How Gunmen Stormed Our School, ‎Abducted 8 — NTIC Management

The management of Nigerian-Turkish International School in Isheri, Ogun State, has confirmed that eight persons, including five students and three staff of the college, were kidnapped on Friday by unknown persons.

Media report continues:

One of those kidnapped is a Turkish national, the school said Saturday.

Many parents removed their children from the school early Saturday.

The principal of the school, Yunus Emre Dogan, t‎old reporters that the kidnappers gained entrance into the compound through a fence wall.

He said the assailants dug a portion of the fence near a swamp.

He said the abductors arrived at about 9.30pm and went straight to the female hostels, where they seized the victims, which included a hostel mistress‎, a cook, a teacher and five students.

The kidnappers reportedly threatened their victims with gun before forcefully taking them away.

In an official statement signed by‎ the College's spokesperson, Cemal Yigit, the gunmen, armed with various weapons were said to have gained entrance to the school premises‎ at about 9:30pm on January 13, 2017.

"At about 9.30pm local time, a group of people armed with dangerous weapons gained entrance to the girls' section through different means and held hostage three female supervisors, a female cook, a female teacher (Turkish) and three students," a part of the statement read.

It further explained that the school security personnel noticed "some movement on the CCTV camera at the girls' section and promptly deployed security personnel and alerted the relevant security agencies in the area as customary."

"Upon hearing the security alarm activated and sighting our security personnel, the armed invaders opened fire on the security staff and managed to escape through a very dangerous route with the hostages. The security agencies are currently on their trail as the whole area has been cordoned off.

"We wish to assure parents and guardians that the students and teacher will return to safety soon as everything possible has been deployed to ensure that our teachers and students return unhurt by God's grace," the statement read.

As at when this report was filed, the abductors were yet to contact the school management or parents of the abducted students.

Parents scrambled to pick their wards despite pleas by the Ogun State Deputy Governor, Yetunde Onanuga, who visited the school.

One of the parents, Bolaji Mustapha, said all parents had resolved to evacuate their children and return them when they were convinced adequate security had been put in place.

“We parents jointly resolved and agreed that we have to take away our children at least for the first one week, until we are convinced about perfect security arrangement being put in place,” Mrs. Mustapha said.

Another mother, Funmi Tijani, whose daughter’s friend was abducted said the psychological effect of the incident alone required the children being taken home.

The deputy governor, Mrs. Onanuga, while addressing parents, ‎said the government was taking urgent steps to provide security and to ensure the safe rescue of the victims.

“Our government has put necessary security measure in place for the rescue of the abductees. Ogun State is already in action. Let me reassure you that we are going to rescue the victims soon. Federal Government is aware of this, we have just got in contact with Abuja,” she said.

She appealed to parents to be calm and prayerful, urging them not to evacuate their children.

In company of the deputy governor were Secretary to State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa; Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dayo Adeneye; Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Afolabi Afuape; Special Adviser to the Governor on Government House Matters, Bayo Adeyemi, and Adejuwon Soyinka, senior special assistant to the governor on media and publicity.

Security officials were also at the school.

Among them were, Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2; Kayode Oluranti, Ogun State commissioner of police; Ahmed Ilyasu‎, state director, State Security Service; and Commander, Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency, Seni Ogunyemi.