Nasarawa State police dismissed reports of a school abduction on Friday as a false alarm triggered by pupils mistaking armed hunters for kidnappers, quelling fears in the Rukubi community after viral claims claimed two students were snatched during sporting activities.
The incident unfolded around 10:00 am at St. Peter’s Academy in Doma Local Government Area, where children fled the field in terror upon spotting hunters with Dane guns, sparking a rumour mill that reached parents and social media within minutes.
Police spokesperson Ramhan Nansel detailed the swift response, stating: “On 21/11/2025 at about 1000hrs, an unverified report filtered in alleging that two pupils of St. Peter’s Academy were abducted while engaging in sporting activities on the school field. In response, the Commissioner of Police, CP Shetima Mohammed, promptly deployed a combined team of Police operatives and military personnel stationed within the general area to the scene. 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.”
Nansel branded the narrative “false and not reflective of the true state of affairs,” urging: “The Command… advised journalists to verify information before publication in order to avoid misleading the public.”
School proprietor Peter Zabutu corroborated the account, explaining: “Today, Friday, they always observe the second period for their physical and health education. So, they went to the school field for the exercise. Two of the pupils, when they saw the hunter passing by, ran to their teacher and told him that they saw people with guns. In the process, the teacher said, ‘Okay, let everybody start going to school; they will stay behind to follow them.’ They started running to school. When they told their teachers, the teachers dismissed them to start moving to the school premises. Some of them, who might have taken the report to the teacher, started shouting that they saw kidnappers. When the others heard ‘kidnappers,’ they started running out of the school gate. Before we knew it, some pupils reached home and told their parents that kidnappers had come to kidnap their pupils. It was a rumour. For over three hours now, we have not had any parents coming to ask for a missing child.”
