Bello Masari, governor of Katsina state, says the abduction
of some students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, was
“conducted and executed” by local bandits, contrary to the claim of Abubakar
Shekau, leader of Boko Haram.
On December 11, gunmen invaded the school, shooting into the
air to scare away people in the area.
As of December 13, Masari said over 300 students were
confirmed missing.
On Tuesday, Shekau, in a four-minute video, said Boko Haram, whose ideology is against western education, carried out the abduction of the Katsina schoolboys.
“What happened in Katsina was done to promote Islam and
discourage un-Islamic practices as Western education is not the type of
education permitted by Allah and his Holy Prophet,” Shekau had said in the
video.
But speaking on a Channels Television programme on
Wednesday, the governor disagreed with the claims of Shekau, noting that
information available to his administration showed that the abduction was
carried out by local bandits.
“The report we have and from the information available to
us, this abduction was conducted and executed by local bandits that are known
to all of us,” he said.
“These bandits that are roaming the forest of Zamfara and
parts of Katsina state, so far, this is the information we have.”
When asked if there is a possible link between the attackers
and Boko Haram, the governor said there are “signs” that bandits are making
contact with terrorist groups.
“I’m not absolutely discounting any foreign, either ISWAP or
Boko Haram, indirectly working with the bandits,” Masari said.
“You know over one year, there were signs that some of the
elements of the bandits are making contact with some of the elements of Boko
Haram or ISWAP.”
Masari, however, noted that the government was working
towards finding out if there is a relationship between the bandits and
terrorist groups.
“With regards to this abduction, we have not seen yet any
direct involvement of Boko Haram or ISWAP. However, we are watching the
development,” the governor said.
“We are seeing through the evidence that we have; we are
going through the tracking system that we have in place to find out if there is
any linkage.”
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