Niger State Government Confirms It Negotiated Directly With Kidnappers

After the abduction of 27 students from the Kagar State College of Science, their teachers and family members, the Niger state government announced that it was in direct negotiations with the bandits to release them.

State Secretary of the State Ahmed Matane announced this in an interview with Thisday.

Bandits in military uniform broke into the school on February 17, killing one student and kidnapping 27 people.

During the interview, SSG stated that no time has been set for the release of the abducted, since negotiations with the bandits who abducted them are still ongoing.

“If someone tells you that he knows when the students will be released, that person is lying; it could be today or tomorrow; nobody can tell; we are still negotiating. “He said.

Matane added that during the negotiations, the bandits presented their demands directly to the state government. According to him, the alleged arrogance on the part of the local vigilante’s people was one of the reasons why the bandits took up arms.

“They said that the vigilante members were killing their own people and that the government should stop that,” Matane said, adding that the bandits also complained about their disregard for government agricultural programs.

He also said that the militants complained about the destruction of their homes and the killing of their livestock as a result of the military aerial bombardment, saying that they had complained that they had lost their livelihood.

He denied that a popular Islamic cleric was involved in the negotiations. According to Matane, Gumi has only prepared a platform for trading, but is in no way involved in it.

“Gumi has just prepared a trading platform. He does not participate in negotiations. “He said.