Mohammed Tajudeen, Principal and Proprietor of Daarulkitab Islamic Training Centre in Zariagi, Kogi State, where bandits abducted pupils, has clarified that some of the students earlier reported as rescued actually escaped.
Suspected armed bandits had attacked the school late Sunday, April 26, 2026, abducting 23 pupils and the wife of the proprietor.
The Kogi State Government, in a statement released on Monday, confirmed the attack on the orphanage and school facility in Zariagi along the Kabba Junction axis of Lokoja, describing the incident as unfortunate and preventable.
The Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, had earlier disclosed that 15 of the abducted pupils were rescued following swift intervention by security agencies.
Similarly, the Kogi State Police Command, in a later update, stated that 17 pupils had been successfully rescued.
However, speaking to journalists during an on-the-spot assessment, Tajudeen said the students currently accounted for fled when the attackers struck and were not rescued.
He explained that the pupils escaped into nearby bushes during the attack and later re-emerged.
Reacting to claims by the Commissioner for Information that Dahallukitab Group of Schools was not registered, Tajudeen said the institution is duly registered.
He stated that the school is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission and the Ministry of Women Affairs, adding that he has documents to support the registration, while noting that Daarul Kitab was registered separately.
According to him, “Those who are available now ran away when the kidnappers came. They were not rescued, but they escaped. They hid inside the bush.
“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 two women, identified as wives of the school principal, were abducted and taken to an unknown destination.
