Katsina Police, Vigilantes Rescue 80 Abducted Islamic Students

Gunmen on Saturday night abducted 80 students of Islamiyya schools in Mahuta town, Dandume LGA, Katsina State.
But they have now been rescued, according to the state police command.
This is coming two days after the release of 344 students of Government Secondary School in Kankara LGA of the state kidnapped by suspected terrorists, apparently linked to Boko Haram.
The Islamic students were on their way back home after they attended a Maulud procession at Unguwan Al-Kasim, a nearby village.
The students were rescued by a combined team of policemen and local vigilante group in the area, according to the police.
It was gathered that the rescue team engaged in a fight with the bandits around 3am and chased them away.
Spokesman for the Katsina State Police Command, Gambo Isah, confirmed the incident in a statement, yesterday.
The e-statement said in part, “On 19/12/2020, about 2200hrs, a distress call was received by DPO Dandume that some Islamiyya students of Hizburrahim Islamiyya, Mahuta village, Dandume, Katsina State, numbering about 80, while on their way back from Maulud occasion celebrated at Unguwan-Al-Kasim, Dandume to Mahuta, were accosted by bandits.
“The bandits had already kidnapped four persons and rustled 12 cows from Danbaure village, Funtua, and were trying to escape with them into the forest.
“On receipt of the report, the DPO led Operations Puff Adder, Sharan Daji and vigilante group to the area, and engaged the bandits in a fierce gun duel.”
The statement said the team succeeded in dislodging the bandits, and rescued all the kidnapped victims as well as recovered all the 12 rustled cows.
It said search parties were still combing the area with a view to arresting the injured bandits or recovering dead bodies while investigation was ongoing.
Last Thursday, 344 students kidnapped from a secondary school in Kankara, Katsina State, a week earlier, were successfully rescued without the loss of any of them.