President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed “overwhelming joy” over release of abducted female students in Zamfara State.
The Governor of Zamfara, Bello Mohammed Matawalle had earlier today confirmed that 279 schoolgirls were released without paying any ransom adding that their release was secured through dialogue with their abductors.
Reacting to the development in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Garba Shehu, on Tuesday the President said, “I join the families and people of Zamfara State in welcoming and celebrating the release of these traumatized female students.”
The president also said he was excited that their ordeal came to a happy end without any incident, adding that “being held in captivity is an agonizing experience not only for the victims, but also their families and all of us.”
However, while celebrating the release of the students, the President called for greater vigilance by the people so that human intelligence could be collected early enough to nip the bandits’ plans in the bud.
He warned that the time has come to reverse, completely, the grim and heartbreaking incidents of kidnapping. “Ransom payments will continue to prosper kidnapping,” he warned, while urging the Police and the Military to go after these kidnappers and bring them to justice.
