3-year-old Islamiyya student kidnapped with 156 people dies in captivity

A three-year-old student from the Salihu Tanko Islamiyya School, Tegina, in the Rafi local government area of Niger State, has been confirmed killed, along with 156 others kidnapped by bandits.

The infant's body was alleged to have been recovered on Sunday, a few kilometers from Tegina town, where it had been abandoned a few days after the kidnapping.

According to leadership, a resident of the neighborhood named Tanki Zegi confirmed the child's death and speculated that the infant died as a result of the trauma caused by the bandits' sporadic gunfire while escorting the victims out of the neighborhood.

Zegi who accused the government of neglecting the people in their time of distress, said they have felt little or no impact from the state government since the children were abducted.

“One of the children the bandits took but later left behind, a few kilometres from Tegina, because he was just about three years old died due to the trauma. He was feverish and later died because of the fear of guns he saw.

“We have been begging the government to come to our aid but we have been abandoned.”