President Bola Tinubu has denounced the heinous actions of kidnappers nationwide, asserting that those engaged in these vile acts should be considered terrorists.
The President made this statement on Tuesday during a Ramadan dinner attended by members of the Federal judiciary, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
Asserting the government’s intent to eradicate banditry, the President called out child kidnappers as cowards, lacking the ability to stand up to the Nigerian Armed Forces’ might.
- “We must treat kidnappers as terrorists. They are cowardly. They have been degraded. They look for soft targets. They go to schools and kidnap children and cause disaffection.
- “We must treat them equally as terrorists in order to get rid of them, and I promise you we will get rid of them,’’ the President said.
What you should know
School abductions are an ongoing security challenge in Nigeria’s northern region, especially since the 2014 kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram extremists in Borno state’s Chibok village shocked the world.
Armed gangs have since targeted schools for kidnap ransoms, resulting in at least 1,400 abducted since then.
Two weeks ago, dozens were abducted in a fresh attack by Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State.
- The attack was the third mass kidnapping in northern Nigeria this year, when more than 200 people, mostly women and children, were abducted by suspected extremists in Borno state.
- Moreover, more than 200 schoolchildren were kidnapped from the Local Government Education Authority School in Kuriga, in Kaduna barely two weeks ago.
- However, the Kaduna State Government confirmed the release of the schoolchildren kidnapped from Kuriga in a statement few days ago.
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