One of the suspected abductors of students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State, Auwal Daudawa, has confessed that he led the operation because the state governor, Bello Masari, dared his men.
DAILY POST recalls that on December 11, 2020, about 300 schoolboys were kidnapped from their school.
However, the schoolboys regained freedom after a week in captivity.
The Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle, had said the boys were rescued through the help of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and that no ransom was paid.
Daudawa and five of his lieutenants had, thereafter, surrendered 20 AK47 rifles, ammunition and a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher to the Zamfara State government.
Speaking with Daily Trust, Daudawa said the abduction was to prove to the government that he had the capacity to carry out such an attack.
He said that Masari had ruled out the option of dialoguing with his group and they wanted to show him that they were capable of causing violence.
“I have never done that kind of mass abduction in Zamfara.
“Since the government said they were not interested in a peace deal and they were sending military jets to torment our people and destroy our belongings, we decided to take the battle to those who are not interested in peace.
“I and my group did that to demonstrate that I had the capacity to do it and I was not afraid of anybody other than Allah. It was for the government and the whole world to know that we could do it but were hitherto not interested in something like that.”
Daudawa also denied reports that he and other members of his group collected ransom for the release of the boys.
He noted that if their aim of abduction was for the money, they wouldn’t have released the boys even for N2 trillion.
“After the abduction, you could see that it was not difficult to come around during talks, because I didn’t do it for money. If it were for money, I would not have released them even for N2 trillion.
“The whole world knows, It cannot be hidden,”Daudawa added.
