ActionAid Nigeria has denounced the kidnappings of students and faculty at LEA Primary School in Kuriga, Kaduna State, as well as internally displaced persons in the Gambarou-Ngala area of Borno State.
Around 280 students and faculty members from Kuriga, Kaduna State’s Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School were reportedly kidnapped by bandits on Thursday.At least 280 students and instructors from both schools were reportedly taken away by the bandits on Thursday after they broke into the Kuriga neighborhood of the Chikun Local Government Area of the state and opened fire on their victims.
The incident happened just twenty-four hours after 200 internally displaced women were kidnapped by rebels in Ngala, the Gambarou-Ngala headquarters in Borno State, while they were gathering firewood in the bush.
AAN’s Country Director, Andrew Mamedu, said in a statement that the kidnappings were similar to those of the Chibok and Dapchi girls, and that each day that goes by without action brings the nation one step closer to the terrible results of those earlier cases.He urged the federal government, along with the state governments of Borno and Kaduna, to give priority to the abductees’ prompt rescue and reunion with their families.”
We strongly denounce these blatant acts of terror against defenseless bystanders, which sadly echo earlier tragedies like the kidnappings of the Dapchi and Chibok girls.
We demand that the governments of Kaduna, Borno, and the Federal Government of Nigeria give the immediate rescue of the kidnapped IDPs top priority and guarantee their safe return to their families.
Every second that goes by without anything being done moves us one step closer to the terrible results of earlier kidnappings.
The fact that more than 200 Nigerians have been kidnapped in Borno State since February 29 and that no decisive action has been taken to free them, as well as the fact that numerous children were kidnapped in Kaduna State a few days later, are ridiculous and unacceptable.
We will not put up with the same shortcomings and sluggish progress in freeing our kidnapped countrymen,” he declared.In addition, the group urged security agencies to learn from their past transgressions and act decisively to protect the abductees from harm while demanding accountability and justice for all the victims of the kidnappings.
Noting that “insecurity has contributed to the current 20 million children who are out of school, and the Safe Schools Initiative aims to address these challenges and ensure a safe learning environment for all children in Nigeria,” it further emphasized the urgent need for the government to prioritize the implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative, which has been approved by federal and state schools.
The country director emphasized that the government needed to make sure security agencies rescued the kidnappees as soon as possible.
Right now, the states and the federal government need to put the lives and welfare of these people first.
In addition, ActionAid Nigeria urges all interested parties, civil society organizations, and the international community to support our efforts in promoting the prompt and safe rescue of the kidnapped students and IDPs who have been abducted, he said.