Bandits have abducted 39 children who were working on a farm in Faskari Local Government Area, Katsina State.

Daily Trust reported that the children, which included boys and girls, were abducted on Sunday October 30th by the bandits who fired sporadically during the attack.

According to a source, a representative of the farm owner had mobilized the children after paying a levy of N1m to the bandits. He revealed that the majority of farm workers (adults) were able escape the attack.

He stated:

"They demanded N3m from the owner for him to be able to harvest his produce, he gave them N1 million as part payment and decided to begin the work before completing the money, but unfortunately the bandits did not accept that. In our village, Mairuwa, alone we have 33 among the victims including young ladies who are due for marriage."

Another resident of Mairuwa also confirmed this assertion.

"The owner of the farm is a Funtua resident, but his representative is residing here in Mairuwa village. As we speak, the bandits have used the cell phone of one of the victims to call demanding a ransom of N30 million.

"They said they were at the farm to abduct the owner or his representative but because they did not meet either of them they decided to kidnap those working for them."

It was also discovered that the victim's parents were at the house of the representative of the farm on Monday, October 31. They were lamenting the incident and some blaming him for risking the lives of their children, a situation that prompted the police to detain him before later releasing him on bail.

SP Gambo Isah, Katsina's police spokesperson, confirmed the incident and said that there is an ongoing effort to rescue victims.

It was learnt that six of the victims were also freed on Tuesday, November 1st.