After 707 days, the two remaining kidnapped students of the Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri, have regained freedom from their abductors, early morning of today (Thursday).
PRNigeria gathered that the two remaining female students, Faida Sani Kaoje and Safiya Idris, were released after intensive negotiations by a special committee set up by their families and well-wishers, with the leadership of the bandits.
A notorious bandit kingpin, Dogo Gide, had insisted that some conditions must be met by the Kebbi State Government, before the remaining girls could be released.
It would be recalled that on April 22, 2023, PRNigeria reported the release of four Yauri female students with two babies, after payment of a huge ransom to Dogo Gide.
Weeks later, precisely on May 7, three other girls, Elizabeth Ogechi Nwafor, Esther Sunday and Aliya Abubakar, were also freed by their captors.
The releases were effected after a huge ransom was generated by parents and other stakeholders when the Kebbi Sate Government was reluctant to meet the bandits’ demands.
The parents had to beg Nigerians to come to their aid financially in order to rescue their children from their abductors.
In a letter addressed to all Nigerians in January 2023, which PRNigeria obtained, the group known as “Committee of Parents of 11 Abducted Students of F.G.C Birnin Yauri, Kebbi State, Nigeria,” passionately solicited financial assistance towards raising the sum of N100 million as ransom to be paid to the terrorists, in exchange for their wards.
In their letter, the Chairman and Secretary of the ‘Committee of Parents, Salim Ka’oje and Mr. Daniel Alkali respectively, said their female children (aged between 12-16 years) had been in the custody of their abductors for about 20 months now.
“…And the abductors are demanding the sum of N100 million before they release the girls,” they added.
It would be recalled that the 11 students were kidnapped when the bandits invaded their school on 17th June 2021.
In November last year, PRNigeria reported that some of the girls had become teenage mothers, while about four others were pregnant.
PRNigeria cannot independently confirm if the ransom paid by the parents was up to the 100 million naira demanded by the bandits.
