Bethel Baptist students: Parents raise alarm over fate of 80 victims still in captivity

Parents of the abducted Bethel Baptist High school, Kaduna are confused and helpless on the continued captivity of their children in the h...

Parents of the abducted Bethel Baptist High school, Kaduna are confused and helpless on the continued captivity of their children in the hands of their abductors.

Recall that in the early hours of Monday. 5th July, 2021, bandits stormed Bethel Baptist High School, Damishi, Kaduna and abducted 121 students of the school.

Some students of the school have regained their freedom while others ran away and another set, freed on health ground.

It was reliably gathered that at least, 80 students are still in the hands of their abductors, while about N60 million has been spent as ransom by parents in getting the release of some of the students.

However, the state chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. John Joseph Hayab, in an interview with Reuters, explained that the bandits are now asking each parent to pay N1 million on the 80 remaining student under their care, making it a total of N80 million as ransom for their release.

One of the parents of the abducted students who pleaded anonymity said it is the parents of the school that are facing the heat of students’ abductions in the state.

Another parent of the released students explained that he and others went through hell before they could afford the demands of the kidnappers to ensure the release of their children.

According to him, “I had to sell our family farm and other valuable assets at our disposal. Even one of my sons, who is in the university, had to contribute his tuition fee to see that his younger brother regained freedom.”

It is no longer news that the Nasir El-Rufai-led state government has made it abundantly clear not to pay ransom of any kind to kidnappers.

The state government, in its wisdom closed 13 schools considered to be vulnerable to attacks by kidnappers’ base to save such schools from being attacked by bandits.

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