From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Parents of the freed Kuriga school children have said they were still waiting for official handover of the children to them by the Kaduna State government 72 hours after their freedom from bandits’ den.
Speaking to newsmen on telephone, spokesperson of Kuriga community, Jubril Aminu, whose two children were victims of the abduction, said every parent is in a joyous mood.
No fewer than 137 schoolchildren and a teacher were abducted in the early hours of March 7 from LEA primary and secondary schools, Kuriga town in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
They were, however, freed by the Nigerian Army from Zamfara forest after 17 days in captivity.
Aminu said: “We are really in a happy mood over the release of our children from Kidnappers’ den. Our joy knows no bounds. Initially, there was a calculation error in the number of children abducted from the two schools.
“After several checks, we discovered there was an error in the number of school children kidnapped. They were not 287 as earlier reported. They are actually 137 children that were abducted. And that was the number that was released. None of our children are missing. No one is missing. It was only their teacher that died in the forest.
“We don’t know when the government will hand over the children to us. I have two children among them. So, we are waiting for the government to call us. Anytime the government calls us we will go and receive them. We are waiting for the official handing over of our children to us.
“We are very happy to see our children in good condition at the Government House because we never expected them to be in that good condition. We saw them doing fine. We want to thank the security agencies and the state governor for the job well done.”