Christian Solidarity Worldwide Nigeria – CSWN says the spike in frequent mass kidnappings in both schools and communities of vulnerable Nigerians is an attack on Nigeria’s growth and development.
Chief Executive Officer of CSWN, Reverend Yunusa Nmadu, in a statement by the Director , Research and Press in Kaduna , Mr Reuben Buhari noted that the ratio of security personnel to Nigeria’s over 200 million inhabitants hasn’t helped the situation.
According to the statement, these frequent serial abductions highlight a retrogressive response from duty-bearers and a failure to effectively utilize intelligence.
This has placed a heavy burden on the government and security agencies to develop better response techniques for these incidents, which show no signs of abating.
He added that coupled with the need to increase security personnel to meet demands, technology should also be deployed while effective border control and stiffer penalties for perpetrators as well as the fight against corruption would go a long way in improving the security situation in the country.
“About 10 years ago – April 2014 – Nigeria got a rude awakening to the menace of large school abductions when 276 students of Government Secondary School Chibok were herded into the bush. Years later almost 100 of those girls are yet to return. In between that kidnapping and today, we have had other large-scale school abductions all across certain northern states that include the 2018 abduction of 110 school girls in Dapchi, Yobe state; the 2020 abduction of about 300 boys from a secondary school in Kankara, Katsina state.”
Others are the 2021 abduction of 317 School girls of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, Zamfara State; the 2021 abduction of 39 students of Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, the Baptist school abduction of 121 students, the Greenfield University abduction, etc.
It could be recalled that 287 school children and some teachers from LEA primary school, Kuriga in Chikun local government area of Kaduna state were abducted on 7th March, 2024 as well as 87 people from Kajuru station in Kajuru local government area of Kaduna state on 17th March, 2024.
Reverend Yunusa Madu noted that recently ,there had been a spike in kidnappings as about 30 people were kidnapped from different committees within a week, including that of Friday 16th March, where 15 people were kidnapped from Dogon noma village .
He expreesed worry over the upward surge in kidnapping In the State especially in Chikun and Kajuru local government areas .
COV/LILIAN SILAS
