El-Rufai withdraws son from school over planned kidnapping

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has temporarily withdrawn his son Abubakar-Sadiq from Kaduna Capital School, a public school, following an alleged plan by three bandit groups to kidnap him. He disclosed this in an interview with the Pidgin Service of the BBC.

The governor had, in 2019, enrolled his son in a public school to lead by example for other top government officials in the state. 

El-Rufai said security reports available to his government had it that, three bandit groups were planning to abduct his son from the school.

He said he also enrolled Sadiq’s younger sister, Nasrine in the same school after turning six years, but that security development has now forced the family to withdraw the children temporarily.

He said that both children, who are currently on homeschooling and would only go to Capital School to write exams, will return when security improves.

El-Rufai said: “I don’t think they (kidnappers) would have succeeded because there are enough security operatives in the school to prevent them. But it would expose other pupils of the school to danger. We didn’t know the kind of weapon they would have brought. I had taken a stand against the payment of ransom and we had reported that three groups were planning to kidnap my son from Capital School to see whether I will pay the ransom or not if my son is kidnapped.

“Both Abubakar Sadiq and Nasrine will go back to the school when there is the confidence that their attendance will not put the school at risk.”