The head teacher of Madarasatul Nurul Islam, an Islamic school in Maikujeri, Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, Aminu Mallam Bako, has narrated how 15 pupils abducted by bandits on Saturday ran into the gunmen while returning home from his farm.

Speaking to Daily Trust on Tuesday, Bako said he had asked the pupils to return home after receiving information that bandits were approaching the farm, where they were helping him harvest maize.

He said the children were already close to home, about two kilometres from the farm, when they ran into the bandits, who abducted them.

The abduction has thrown the school and the community into distress, with parents and school authorities living in fear and uncertainty over the fate of the children.

“We were on the farm when we received information that the bandits were approaching. I immediately asked the children to return home.

“From the farm to the house was just a distance of two kilometres. The children were already close to home when they ran into the bandits,” the head teacher said.

Bako said he had been crying over the incident and felt responsible because the children were with him on the farm when they were abducted.

“We are traumatised. I have been crying because they are my pupils and they fell into this problem because of me as their teacher. Their mothers have also been crying for the past three days. I am not at ease,” he said.

He said the bandits had contacted the school to find out whether the children attended a government school offering Western education.

According to him, the abductors claimed they had been told that the school belonged to the government, a claim he said was incorrect.

He added that the gunmen insisted that the school was a government institution offering Western education despite explanations that it was a community-owned Islamic school.

Bako said the school had yet to receive any substantial intervention from the state or local governments, apart from a sympathy visit by the council chairman and the Divisional Police Officer.

He called on the authorities to take immediate steps to rescue the pupils, saying the school management had shut down the institution following the abduction.

The teacher said the community was anxiously waiting for the safe return of the children.

He also disclosed that a friend who was with the pupils was abducted alongside them, bringing the total number of victims to 16.

One of the parents, Mallam Salisu, whose 12-year-old daughter, Hajara, was among the abducted pupils, has been hospitalised after suffering trauma over the incident.

Residents told Daily Trust that Salisu was overwhelmed by the news of his daughter’s abduction alongside the other pupils.

Another parent, Bello Bako, said the abduction had left families devastated, with parents struggling to cope with the uncertainty surrounding their children’s fate.

He said he had been crying day and night since Saturday and appealed to the government to rescue the children.

Police launch rescue operation

The Niger State Police Command said joint security operatives had been deployed to rescue the abducted victims.

The police spokesperson, Wasiu Abiodun, said in a statement that suspected bandits invaded Tungan-Bako village in Rafi Local Government Area on October 31, 2026, and abducted people working on a farm.

He said preliminary reports indicated that about 14 pupils of an Islamiyya school were among those abducted while helping their teacher harvest maize.

“Joint security rescue efforts are ongoing. Further developments will be communicated,” he said.

Abiodun also disclosed that security operatives had rescued six other abducted victims during a clearance operation around Pandogari in Rafi Local Government Area.

He said the victims were kidnapped by suspected hoodlums on October 28 while working on their farms in Mahangi village, near Pandogari.

According to him, the victims were taken to Hanawanka Forest but were rescued unhurt during the operation on October 29.

He said they were taken to the Kagara Divisional Police Headquarters for debriefing and medical attention before being reunited with their relatives. (Daily Trust)