President Muhammadu Buhari says the release of 279 schoolgirls of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe in Zamfara state filled him with “overwhelming joy”.
The president stated this in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu.
The Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle on Tuesday morning announced the release of the schoolgirls, who were abducted last Friday.
He added that the release of the schoolgirls was aided by repentant bandits in the state.
Reacting, President Buhari expressed happiness that the schoolgirls’ ordeal “came to a happy end without any incident”, noting that “being held in captivity is an agonising experience not only for the victims but also their families and all of us.”
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The president called for greater vigilance by the people so that human intelligence could be collected early enough to nip the bandits’ plans in the bud.
“I join the families and people of Zamfara State in welcoming and celebrating the release of these traumatised female students,” he stated.
Also, the president said that the time had come to reverse, completely, the “grim and heartbreaking incidents of kidnapping.”
Charging the military and police to go after the kidnappers and bring them to justice, President Buhari warned that ransom payments would continue to “prosper kidnapping”.
Similarly, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said he was “delighted” with the release of the 279 girls.
However, he drew attention to the fact that 317 girls were said to have been abducted, praying for released of the “balance of the girls”.
In a Facebook post, Atiku said, “As a father, I am delighted at the release of 279 students of GGSS Jangebe. Even as I rejoice with the families of the released, I hope and pray that the balance of the girls would soon regain their freedom and be rejoined with their families and loved ones. No student, parent or indeed citizen should go through this ordeal again.
“I congratulate the Zamfara State government and all those who worked in synergy to secure the safe return of these girls. I am convinced that the government will secure the release of the rest of the victims. The bigger task is to ensure that these kinds of incidents do not happen again, and that is an objective that the federal government should take the lead.”