Tension eased in Rukubi community, Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State on Friday after the State Police Command debunked viral reports claiming that pupils of St. Peter’s Foundation Secondary School were abducted by suspected kidnappers.
A statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, Ramhan Nansel, dismissed the circulating accounts as false and misleading, stressing that nothing close to an abduction occurred.
Fresh findings showed that the scare began when some students heading to the school field for their Physical and Health Education class saw armed hunters in the area. Mistaking them for kidnappers, the pupils panicked and ran, raising fears of an attack. Their teachers later gathered and led them back to the school compound.
Nansel explained that the Commissioner of Police, Shetima Jauro Mohammed, immediately deployed a joint team of police and military personnel stationed within the area after receiving a distress alert. He said the team combed the surrounding bush and confirmed that the children only reacted out of fear.
“Upon arrival, it was discovered that the pupils had sighted some hunters carrying Dane guns and, out of fear, fled, mistaking them for kidnappers. The area was thoroughly combed, and normalcy was immediately restored,” the police spokesperson said.
School authorities also confirmed the police account. The proprietor of St. Peter’s Foundation Secondary School was interviewed and verified that no student was abducted and that the reports circulating online were unfounded.
Security operatives have since remained on ground to maintain calm and ensure no breach of the peace.
The command urged the public to ignore the earlier claims and advised journalists and media organisations to verify sensitive information before publication to avoid unnecessary tension.
“The report is mere rumour unworthy of publication as factual news,” the statement stressed.
