Controversy trails reported release of abducted Zamfara schoolgirls

Government Girls Secondary School Jangebe Zamfara

The reported release of the abducted 317 female students of Government Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara State has been shrouded in controversy.

The schoolgirls who were abducted last Friday were reported on Sunday to have been released and at the palace of the emir of Anka, waiting to be transported to Gusau, the state capital.

But in a dramatic twist, Zamfara commissioner for information and cullture Suleiman Anka tweeted Sunday afternoon that the students had not been released.

“It’s not true. But, the state government and securities are trying their best,” he said.

Also, the governor’s press secretary Jamilu Magaji said in a statement on Sunday that “some online media outlets have claimed the release of the female students of Government Girls Science Secondary School, Jangebe from unsubstantiated sources.”

He added, “Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle Maradun and his aides have since Friday when the girls were abducted by gunmen not rested but been working round the clock making frantic efforts that will lead to the safe release of the victims and are not happy that someone who does not know the details of the situation will try to further hurt the victims’ parents, government and the security by ridiculing the effort with falsehood.”