The police in Katsina on Sunday confirmed the abduction of another set of 80 students from an Islamiya school in the state on Saturday night.

The police, however, said all the 80 students and another four victims have been rescued by security operatives.

It was learnt that the 80 students were returning from an Islamic occasion when they ran into the bandits, who had earlier kidnapped the four victims and rustled some cows.

Following distress calls, security operatives were said to overpower the bandits, leading to the rescue of the students and the four victims.

According to the police, there was no casualty during the gun duel.

The spokesman for the Katsina Police Command, Gambo Isah, confirmed the incident, adding that investigation had commenced.

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Isah, in a statement on Sunday, said, “On 19/12/2020 at about 2200hrs, a distress call was received by DPO Dandume, that some Islamiyya Students of Hizburrahim Islamiyya, Mahuta village, Dandume LGA of Katsina state, numbering about 80, while on their way back from Maulud occasion celebrated at Unguwan Alkasim village, Dandume to Mahuta village, were accosted by bandits who had already kidnapped four persons and rustled 12 cows from Danbaure village, Funtua LGA, trying to escape into the forest.

“On receipt of the report, the DPO led Operations “Puff Adder, Sharan Daji, and Vigilante group to the area and engaged the bandits into a fierce gun duel. Subsequently, the teams succeeded in dislodging the bandits and rescued all the 84 kidnapped victims, and recovered all the 12 rustled cows. Search parties are still combing the area with a view of arresting the injured bandits and/or recovery of their dead bodies.

” Investigation is ongoing.”