By Uche Amunike
The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, in Kaduna state has decried what it described as the neglect of the Kaduna state government over the remaining students who were abducted at Bethel Baptist High School, Damishi, Kaduna, but yet to be released to their parents.
Recall that about two months ago in the wee hours of July 5, 2021, the said school was invaded by fully armed bandits who abducted the total of one hundred and twenty-one, (121), students after forcefully gaining access into the school and overpowering the security guards before making their way into the students hostel where they successfully abducted the students.
Even though a joint team of the Nigerian Police and Navy officers were mobilized to rescue the abducted students safely, they are yet to be completely rescued in spite of the fact that their parents have had to pay humongous amounts as ransom to the captors.
They eventually released some of the students in batches after ransom was collected by them, but so far, thirty-one of the students are still in their custody even two months after they were abducted.
Nothing more has been said about them, thereby leaving their parents and family members thrown into fear and confusion.
The state chairman of CAN, Kaduna state chapter, Rev John Joseph Hayab has issued a statement where he raised concerns about the silence by the Kaduna state government on the issue, saying that it was bad and condemnable not saying or doing anything about it.
According to his statement, it is now sixty-eight days since those innocent children were abducted from their school and yet the leaders in Nigeria and not talking, making it look like all is well when in fact, the reverse is the case.
His heart went out to the parents of the remaining 31 students, stressing that they have not known sleep in those 68 days and begged that our leaders should be relentless in making efforts to rescue the school children without any delay.
He lamented that Kaduna state government which closed down schools for over a month with claims that the military will go after the bandits have already asked all schools to re-open despite the fact that those students were yet to be rescued, saying that it just didn’t add up.
He wondered if the military exercise that led to the schools being closed was just another drama to distract and confuse both the parents of the abducted children and their sympathizers.
Recall that the last batch of released students were 32 in number on August 27, 2021.
The abduction then was the fourth mass abduction in Kaduna state schools in the last six months of the deteriorating state of security in the North west and North central States.
He assured that the church in Kaduna state will continue to be vocal about the release of the remaining students until they are all returned back to their families.
