A political group, Tinubu Vanguard, has condemned the ceaseless attacks and abductions of schoolchildren by bandits in parts of Northern Nigeria, describing it as an attack on the country’s educational system.
The Director-General of the group, Dr Johnny Benjamin, who said this in a statement Friday in Abuja, called on the government and other stakeholders to take urgent steps to address the situation.
“The continued abduction of school children in Nigeria by bandits is condemnable and totally unacceptable, especially the most recent of such abduction of the Kagara Schoolboys in Niger, and the Government Girls Secondary School in Zamfara.
“This is a clear indication that there is a deliberate attack targeted at discouraging our citizens from sending their children to school, thereby killing our educational system.
“Any attack on the education of a country is to destabilise and cripple the development of that country.
“We urge the government and other stakeholders at all levels to redouble their efforts to rescue all our children in captivity, improve our security apparatus and ensure the security of lives and property,” he said.
Mr Benjamin also urged state and local governments in the country to equally enhance security in schools within their domain so as to forestall such abductions.
“While we commend the Federal Government on its efforts in securing our people, we call on the states and local governments who also swore to the same responsibility as the federal government to complement the efforts of the Federal Government.
“We equally call on our people to be conscious and vigilant as security is everybody’s business. Citizens should report suspicious movements in their environments to the security agencies,” he advised.
NAN
