Students of the Government Science College Kagara, Niger State, their teachers, and other persons kidnapped by gunmen in the early hours of February 17, remain in custody eight days after because the condition for a swap proposed by the abductors is yet to be met, according to a report by Daily Trust.
Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello had last week confirmed that the government was negotiating for the safe release of the abductees.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar who was in Minna, the Niger State capital over the kidnapping, also said the police knew the identity of the abductors.
According to the publication, the ongoing negotiations that the kidnappers, who operate between Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State and Rafi Local Government in Niger State, had demanded for the release of six members of their group arrested at different times by security agents.
The abductors, it was learnt, demanded the release of the identified persons arrested as the only condition for them to release the abductees.
One of the sources said the Niger State Government has engaged security agencies in an active search for the persons to effect the swap.
“Four of them are so far identified. Two were located in Katsina, and one each in Kaduna and Niger states,” he said.
Identifying the two remaining gang members, the publication said, was delaying the conclusion of the process.
Meanwhile, as the dialogue with the bandits continued, governors from the North under the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) are scheduled to meet in Kaduna today and tomorrow, with insecurity on the top agenda.
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