Like Chibok Girls, Like Kuriga School Children

Ejiofor Alike and John Shiklam report that reminiscent of the April 14, 2014 abduction of over 276 Chibok school girls by Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State, last Thursday’s abduction of 287 school children in Kaduna State by bandits has sent ominous signals that the federal government and its security architecture have not learnt lessons that could stop the incessant attacks on schools by bandits

In what appeared as a sad reminder of the April 14, 2014 abduction of over 276 Chibok school girls in Borno Sate, bandits last Thursday abducted 287 school children in Kaduna State.

The terrorists invaded LEA Primary and Government Secondary School (GSS), Kuriga, Chikun Local Government Area (LGA) of Kaduna State and abducted 287 school children, in what could be described as the highest mass abduction in the state.

Critics of Vice President Kashim Shettima had argued that his alleged complacence as the then Governor of Borno State led to the abduction of the Chibok school girls.

A letter sent by the then Supervising Minister of Education and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Nyesom Wike to Shettima on March 12, 2014, requesting him to relocate Senior School Certificate Examination candidates of Federal Unity Schools to Maiduguri, the state capital, was allegedly ignored by the state government.

Wike had at the time, expressed fears over security challenges, noting also that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council of Nigeria (NECO) had also expressed concerns as well.

A month after, on April 14, Boko Haram terrorists hit Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, and abducted the 276 female students from their dormitory in the middle of the night.

With the local and international outcry that greeted the incident, coupled with the embarrassment it caused Nigeria globally, many had thought that the federal government and its security architecture would not only rescue the girls but also nip similar incidents in the bud.   

But nearly 10 years after the Chibok incident, not only that close to 100 of the girls have remained in captivity, bandits have continued to carry out similar raids on schools in the northern parts of the country and abduct children for ransom.

The case of Kaduna State is more shocking as the state has become one of the most insecure in the country despite having the largest concentration of military formations, police and other security installations, and also not having borders with any neighbouring country.

Last Thursday’s abduction was about the fourth time bandits attacked schools in the state and kidnapped a large number of people for ransom.

On March 11, 2021, 39 students of the Federal College of Forestry, Afaka- Kaduna, were abducted when bandits invaded the school in the middle of the night.

On April 20, 2021, 23 students of Greenfield University which was formerly located along the Kaduna-Abuja Road, were abducted when bandits attacked the institution.

Also on July 5, 2021, bandits broke into Baptist Bethel High School, Kaduna, and made away with 121 students.

Despite the huge budgets for defence and security by successive administrations, the terrorists have remained bold and daring in their attacks on schools and security agencies.

Though the security forces have been relentless in the fight against the terrorists with success stories recorded by the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Air Force, the bandits have remained unrelenting in their assaults on Nigerians.

One of the success stories was the recent killing of Boderi Isyaku, a notorious bandit leader responsible for the kidnapping of 39 students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation and the attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna in 2021, alongside his gang members.

Isyaku and his gang were said to be responsible for the kidnapping of high-profile individuals and mass abduction of people in Kaduna, Niger and Zamfara states.

But the military’s exploits have not discouraged these terrorists.

While the Chibok incident took place in the middle of the night, the perpetrators of the latest Kuriga incident were bolder and more daring because, according to one of the school teachers, Sani Abdullahi, the incident occurred in broad daylight, at about 8.30am after the morning assembly.

Abdullahi narrated how the bandits, said to be about 100 in number, stormed the school and abducted pupils and students alongside their teachers, when the Kaduna State governor, Senator Uba Sani, visited the community on Thursday evening to sympathise with the people over the incident.

According to him, 187 students of the GSS and 125 pupils from the primary school were missing. However, the bandits freed 21 of the pupils because of their tender ages while four others escaped and returned home, bringing the number of missing children to 287.

Abdullahi said he was in the Acting Principal’s office to sign the staff register when the Acting Principal suddenly drew his attention to a large number of bandits who had already surrounded the school.

“Then, the bandits ordered us to enter the bush, so we obeyed them because they were many.

“So, when we entered the bush, I was lucky to escape alongside many other people. I returned to the village and reported what happened to the community.

“Immediately our vigilante and personnel of Kaduna Vigilante Service (KADVS) followed the bandits, but the vigilante did not succeed. The bandits killed one of the vigilantes,” he explained.

Addressing the community at the palace of the District Head of Kuriga, Alhaji Lawal Abdullahi, the governor  said President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, have been briefed about the incident, adding that efforts were being made to deploy security forces to rescue the children.

“I will make a strong case to the Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of Army Staff for the establishment of a Military Base in Kuriga to strengthen security in the area”, the governor added.

The governor maintained that the incident has reinforced his support for the establishment of state police.

The governor argued that, “with State Police, there will be a standing Police Force in Kuriga drawn from members of the community who understand the terrain, the people and the issues at play,” the governor said.

Reacting to the abduction of the students on his X handle, President Tinubu said he had directed security and intelligence agencies to immediately rescue the victims and ensure that justice is served against the perpetrators of the abominable acts.

“Nothing else is acceptable to me and the waiting family members of these abducted citizens. Justice will be decisively administered.

“I sympathise with the families of the victims, and assure them that they would soon be reunited with their loved ones”, the president wrote on his X handle.

It is a shame and international embarrassment to Nigeria that bandits can abduct over 200 school children in the country without any trace.

The president and the governors should stop this tradition of sending sympathy messages to victims of attacks and secure lives and property of Nigerians, which is the primary responsibility of the government.