A joint security operation by the police, military, and vigilante groups have about 80 girls in Mahuta village in Dandume local government area of Katsina State.
This is coming less than 48 hours after 344 abducted school boys of Government Science Secondary School, GSSS Kankara regained freedom.
Spokesman of the Katsina State Police command, SP Gambo Isah, who confirmed the incident to ait.live debunked claims that, the girls were all abducted.
According to him, on December 19 at about 6pm, some pupils of Hizburrahim Islamiyya in Mahuta village numbering about 80, while on their way home from a Maulud occassion celebrated at Unguwan Alkasim village in Dandume were accosted by bandits.
He said the girls on the procession met the bandits who had already kidnapped four persons and rustled 12 cows from Danbaure village of Funtua local government area trying to escape into the forest.
Also Read : Released Kankara school boys arrive Katsina State capital
Isah added that as a result of the incident, the District Police Officer of Dandume after receiving a distress call immediately mobilised joint team of Operation Puff Adder, Operation Saharan Daji and some members of the vigilante group to the scene where they engaged the bandits in a gun duel.
He said, the teams succeeded in dislodging the bandits and rescued all the kidnapped victims and recovered all the 12 rustled cows.
The police image maker further added that, search parties are still combing the area with a view to arresting the injured bandits and to recover their dead bodies while all the girls who earlier scampered for safety have been found from neighbouring villages.
He therefore debunked claims that 80 girls have been kidnapped while adding that, investigation is still on going.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
