Insecurity continues to be one of the deadliest menaces plaguing Nigeria.
In recent times, there has been an increase in kidnapping and banditry, posing a grievous threat to national security and economic development. Not only has this adversely affected our national image but it has also eaten deep into every fabric and segment of the nation. Badly affected is Northern Nigeria which has become the epicentre of banditry and kidnapping for ransom.
Not too far from this is the spate of abductions of school children. Mass kidnappings of schoolgirls and boys at schools in the North East and North West began seven years ago and have become a frequent phenomenon, carried out by rapacious bandits who have turned this menace into an evil money-making venture.
This form of brazen terrorism has, unfortunately, not been met with the level of containment by the authorities that is needed to address the severity of a recurring crime of this kind.
Since 2014, according to several news reports, there have been a number of students’ kidnappings. These crimes have been targeted at underage schoolchildren who are often made vulnerable by poor security, infrastructure and negligence on the part of the state and federal governments.
In recent times, the public has begun to recall the genesis of the spate of school kidnappings in the town of Chibok in north-eastern Borno State. A total of 276 girls were kidnapped in April 2014 and 112 of them are still missing.
In Kaduna State, 39 students went missing after gunmen stormed the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization overnight on March 11, 2021. At the time, it was the fourth school abduction in northern Nigeria since December. Not long after, there were reports of security operatives reportedly foiling an attempt to kidnap students from a secondary school in the early hours of Sunday, March 15 on the outskirts of Kaduna’s Ikara town.
In an ironic turn of events, gunmen seized three teachers from a primary school in Kaduna State in the same month. One can count many series of abductions both reported and unreported in the North. This has shown that the terrorists are becoming bolder by the day.
Last week, in another sad and tragic event, the bandits in commando style, invaded Kuriga Primary School, in Chikun local government and abducted more than 200 students and their principal.
The abduction came barely one week after a similar attack was carried out in Borno State, by Boko Haram insurgents and more than 200 women kidnapped.
In Katsina and Zamfara states, mass abductions by bandits have become a recurring decimal. Those states have been experiencing attacks by bandits, leading to the closing of schools.
The reason or motive behind the abductions for ransom is to discourage the acquisition of Western education in the North.
Whenever bandits carry out nefarious attacks or abduct their helpless victims, the government will come out and condemn their actions and promise to stop any future attempt. Alas, one can only hear another round of condemnation from concerned authorities, if these bandits strike again.
While the government is doing its best to tackle the challenges of abduction of students and pupils, there is the need to re-strategise security infrastructure and ensure effective protection of lives and property.
The authorities cannot continue to play to the tune of these perpetrators by rewarding them with ransoms. State governments and the federal government must step up measures to tackle the notorious attacks before they reach a boiling point.
Nigerians must continue to speak against abductions until the government becomes responsive. The Nigerian government must wake up to its responsibility of protecting citizens’ lives and properties and combat this menace because targeting education is targeting the future of Nigeria.
Ibrahim Mustapha, Pambegua, Kaduna State
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