A family member of one of the kidnapped Kankara schoolboys who spoke in a video recently released by Boko Haram has been identified and named. He is Sani AbdulHamid.
The member of AbdulHamid’s family, who said he was his brother, described him as a “very hard working SS2 student” and said his abduction has left his loved ones traumatised.
In the video made public on Thursday, the boy was seen calling on the Nigerian government to quickly negotiate their release and withdraw the security operatives mobilised to rescue them.
HumAngle learnt that AbdulHamid was also a Shadow Prefect at the Government Science Secondary School (GSSS) and was abducted together with his younger brother, AbdulHamid AbdulHamid.
“Their father is currently in Kankara looking forward to meeting with his children as he heard the rumour about their release,” one source told our reporter.
Earlier on Thursday, there were reports about the purported release of the abducted boys shortly after Boko Haram released a video of them pleading with the government to secure their release.
Reports about the said release, shared by Arise News and Abike Dabiri-Erewa, presidential aide and chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, have however been deleted, calling into question the truth of the update.
The Abubakar Shekau-led faction of Boko Haram had earlier claimed responsibility for the abduction of the schoolboys from GSSS Kankara on Friday night.
The group said it took the boys as part of its war against Western education.
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