Our students escaped. They were not rescued – Principal of Kogi orphanage says

Mohammed Tajudeen, the Principal and Proprietor of Daarulkitab Islamic Training Centre in Zariagi, Kogi State, where bandits abducted 25 pupils, has explained that the students reported as rescued actually escaped.

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Suspected armed bandits had attacked the school late Sunday, April 26, 2026, and abducted 23 pupils and the wife of the proprietor.

The Kogi State Government, in a statement released on Monday, confirmed an attack on an orphanage and school facility in Zariagi, along the Kabba Junction axis of Lokoja, describing the incident as unfortunate and preventable. The state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, had disclosed that 15 of the abducted pupils have been rescued following the swift intervention of security agencies.

Also, the Kogi State Police Command, in a later update, disclosed that 17 of the pupils were successfully rescued.

However, speaking to Journalists during the on-spot assessment, the Principal, Tajudeen, said

“Those who are available now ran away when the k!dnappers came. They were not rescued, but they escaped. They hid inside the bush.”

Reacting to the statement by the Commission of Information that Dahallukitab Group of Schools was not registered, Tajudeen said

“The school is registered with CAC and the Ministry of Women Affairs, I have the document to back our registration. The Darul Kitab was registered separately.”

The Police also confirmed that the two women, who are the wives of the school principal, were taken to an unknown destination.