Education Minister Calls For Safe And Unconditional Release Of 287 Kidnapped Students And Teachers

The federal government has expressed shock over the abduction of more than 287 students and teachers from both primary and secondary school in Kuriga village, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna state.

Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, SAN, who briefed newsmen on Friday alongside the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Sununu, called for safe and unconditional release of the abducted children and teachers unharmed.

The Minister, who described the incident as one kidnapping too many, said the Ministry of Education is working with the security agencies on how to bring to end such heinous activities of bandits, especially under the Safe School project of the Federal Government.

He called on Nigerians to pray for the safe release of the innocent children and those of their teachers from captivity, noting that Christians should use the opportunity of Lent to put the victims in their prayers.

He said: “We are here to express our shock and disgust in respect of what happened in Kaduna yesterday where close to 300 students and teachers were kidnapped in both primary and secondary school in Kuriga.

“It’s a very sad day for the country. And we appeal to the security agencies to do everything possible including the government of Kaduna State to rescue and bring back these young ones and their teachers unarmed.

“We will be working with the security agencies to ensure that we bring to end this type of thing under the Safe School project of the Federal Government.

“We sincerely hope these young ones are brought back even before the Ramadan season starts. Our brothers and sisters are already observing the Lent. So we commit them to prayers to the Almighty to protect them and bring them back safely home.

“We are terribly concerned about this development, and we make appropriate appeals to those whose responsibility is to bring back our children, to work as quickly as possible so that these children are returned back to their homes and back to school safely,” Mamman stated.

He noted that he was in touch with the government of Kaduna state and security agencies working on the matter, expressing hope that the children are released unharmed.