Bandits release schoolchildren, others after 36 days in captivity

After spending 36 days in captivity, six schoolchildren, their driver and two others abducted by suspected bandits on the Akwando-Kachia Road in Kaduna State have regained their freedom.
The victims were kidnapped on April 26, 2026, when suspected bandits attacked a vehicle conveying schoolchildren from Akwando village to Kachia, headquarters of Kachia local government area. A total of nine passengers were abducted while a young girl reportedly died during the incident.

The spokesman of the Kuturmi Unity Development Association (KUDA), Mr Manasseh Samuel, who confirmed the development, explained, “The victims returned home on Sunday morning after trekking for about six hours through the bush.”

Samuel expressed delight to groups and individuals who offered prayers and support towards securing the victims’ release.

A former media aide to the late Kaduna State governor, Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, Mr Reuben Buhari, who also confirmed the release of victims, disclosed in a Facebook post that the victims regained their freedom on Sunday and arrived home the following morning.

Buhari wrote, “Thirty-six days after they were kidnapped while on their way to school in Kachia from Akwando village, six schoolchildren, the driver of the vehicle and two other adults regained their freedom yesterday and got home this morning after trekking for six hours in the bush.”

He added, “special gratitude to everyone for their prayers and contributions in different ways that led to their freedom.”
According to Buhari, the children endured a traumatic experience and lost almost an entire academic term while in captivity but expressed gratitude to God Almighty for their lives.

He called for sustained prayers for other residents still being held by kidnappers, particularly those abducted from Awon and Ariko villages, saying that those kidnapped from Awon village have spent 42 days, while those from Ariko village have spent 57 days.