Abductors of the six female pupils and teachers at the Engravers College, Kakau Daji in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State have demanded N50m as ransom.
Some gunmen in the early hours of Thursday invaded the college and took away six female pupils and two teachers of the school to an unknown destination.
The spokesman for the Kaduna State Police Command, DSP Yakubu Sabo, confirmed the incident.
Speaking to journalists on Friday, one of the parents of the abducted students, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the kidnappers had made contact with the school management and demanded N50m ransom.
The parent said, “We learnt the kidnappers had first demanded N30m per student.
“We were told that the school authorities told the kidnappers that they could only afford N100,000 for the release of the pupils and their teachers.
“The kidnappers told them they were not willing to get the children back. Negotiations are still going on.”
Meanwhile, it was gathered that the school had been temporarily closed and pupils sent home following the incident.
Meanwhile, the school Vice-Principal, (Administration), Mr Shunom Giwa, confirmed that the kidnappers had made contact with the school management.
He was, however, silent on the N50m ransom demanded by the abductors, saying he could not discuss it.
“The kidnappers have contacted us. We are already on it. By God’s grace, they will all be released today (Friday),” he said.
Narrating his ordeal, Giwa told our correspondent who visited the college that the kidnappers, numbering five, invaded the school premises at about 12.10 am.
He said while in his residence in the school’s staff quarters, he heard an unusual noise and directed his wife and children to hide inside the bedroom.
According to him, the kidnappers attempted to forcibly pull down the door but “I asked them not to bother, that I was coming to open the door for them”.
He said after a headcount of the pupils when the kidnappers had left, they discovered that they (kidnappers) took away six female pupils, the Vice-Principal (Academics) and the House Mistress.
He said, “I opened the door and saw five young men with arms. They asked me to lie down, which I did. Then, they asked me to give them what I had in my pocket and I gave them all I had.
“Then, they attempted to enter my bedroom, but knowing my wife and children were inside, I stood up to distract them. They asked me to lie down again and I did.
“All of sudden, they brought out my colleague, the Vice-Principal (Academics). They also asked him to lie on the floor.
“When I discovered that their attention was on my colleague, I ran into the bush and they shot at me. Fortunately, they didn’t get me. When they couldn’t, they started looking for where the pupils were.
“They got to the hostel and forced the door open. Then, I started thinking, what could I do to distract them? Then, I started shouting, ‘Police, JTF, security people, come, there are kidnappers here.’
“Then, they started shooting in my direction again. I ran and scaled the fence; I went out of the school. I was behind the fence. When I heard dogs barking in the bush, I knew they must be the ones leaving. I heard my colleague, the matron, calling the name of the senior prefect. I called his name, he answered, then, I came out. All the girls had moved to the matron’s house.
“So, we started doing a headcount to know who was taken. Then, we realised the Vice-Principal (Academics), Mr Joel Adamu, the House Mistress and six female pupils were missing.
“It was because I kept shouting that the kidnappers left the school in a hurry. Otherwise, they would have gone with all the girls.”
Giwa said prior to the incident, the school population had been dropping due to security challenges.