Governor el-Rufai has abandoned us, parents of kidnapped students cry out

Parents of the students abducted by bandits at the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, Kaduna State, have accused the Kaduna state government and management of the school of not doing anything to secure the release of the students 47 days after they were kidnapped.

Recall that on the night of 11th March, 2021, gunmen invaded the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, and forcefully abducted 39 students of the Institution at gunpoint; 23 of them female students while 16 are male, with several others sustaining varying degrees of injuries while running for dear lives.

Ten of the kidnapped students were later released leaving 29 still in captivity.

One of the parents who is also spokesman for the parents, Comrade Friday Sanni while speaking on Channels TV on Tuesday, April 27 said the Governor Nasir el-Rufai administration in Kaduna state has abandoned the students in captivity.

According to him, the last time they heard the government talking about the kidnapped students was on an AIT program 18 days ago.

“They have not gotten back to us, and I’m sure they are not happy with us because we are speaking to the press. They assured us that the security agency is working, but we’re yet to see a single child that was rescued by the security people.

“You can’t beat somebody and say he should not cry. The Kaduna state commissioner for internal security, Samuel Aruwan, once accused the chairman of the committee and myself of going behind to pay ransom before the 10 students were released, but I wonder how that could have been possible when I still have my two daughters in captivity.

“This same man also said the released students were rescued, so he is not telling the truth. I don’t expect him to talk like that. We have been abandoned by the Kaduna state government and the school.

“We’re begging the bandits to help create a platform where we can as parents negotiate with then since the government has refused to do anything. The N5 million they’re demanding per student is still very high for us” he added.

Also speaking, a former presidential candidate and head of public affairs, NCFront, Yinusa Tanko, explained that the Kaduna state government has been too silent on the issues.

“Kaduna is technically being surrounded by bandits, but it appears to us that the state government is incapable of handling the insecurity in the state. We need a proactive government in the state, but we’re not getting that at the moment.”