Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, has reacted to claims that the kidnap and release of Government Science School students in Kankara, Katsina State was staged.
Speaking on Tuesday in an interview on Channels Television breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, Shehu said only a heartless person will stage the kidnap of innocent children.
He added that from the accounts of the released boys, they were subjected to inhumane treatment while in the bush and no one should say such an incident was staged.
“It is just being ridiculous. How can anybody do this? Then people must be heartless if they should do this and subject these young people to that.
“You heard the accounts. These young people were kept in the forest. They were fed once on raw potatoes and drips of water for seven days.
“See the suffering they were subject to. I don’t think any decent human being will subject innocent young people to this kind of thing. Nobody should say this please,” he said.
He also debunked claims that ransom was paid to secure the release of the schoolboy revealing that they were released based on the joint effort of Katsina and the Zamfara State government who used repentant bandits.
“All of the leading actors involved in the release of the children said no ransom was paid. They used repentant bandits to gain access to the bandits in the forest and they had the children released.
“So, to the best of our knowledge, no ransom was paid.”