By Amofokhai Williams
President Bola Tinubu has declared that Nigeria must end the era in which schoolchildren are left vulnerable to terrorists, insisting that his administration will not allow students to remain “sitting ducks for heartless terrorists intent on disrupting their education.”
The President made the statement on Monday while welcoming news of the rescue of 100 Catholic students abducted from Papiri Catholic School in Niger State.
He praised security agencies for what he described as their tireless and steadfast efforts in securing the children’s freedom.
“I have been briefed on the safe return of 100 students from the Catholic School in Niger State. I rejoice with Governor Umar Bago and commend our security agencies for their steadfast work in ensuring the safe return of the students to their families since the unfortunate incident on November 21,” he said.
Despite celebrating the breakthrough, Tinubu directed security agencies to intensify operations to ensure the swift rescue of the remaining 115 students and their teachers still held hostage.
He assured parents that the Federal Government is working closely with the Niger State Government to guarantee the safe return of all abducted children.
“My directive to our security forces remains that all the students and other abducted Nigerians across the country must be rescued and brought back home safely. We must account for all the victims,” he said, reaffirming the government’s commitment to school safety.
Tinubu stressed that preventing future kidnappings must now become a coordinated national priority involving security agencies and state governors across the federation.
“The Federal Government will continue to work with Niger State and other states to secure our schools and make the learning environment safer and more conducive for our young ones.
“From now on, our security agencies, working with the governors, must prevent future kidnappings. Our children should no longer be sitting ducks for heartless terrorists intent on disrupting their education and subjecting them and their parents to unspeakable trauma,” the President declared.
