Northern Group Condemns FG’s Focus On Oyo School Abduction

The Arewa Cohesion for Peace, Unity and Development, ACI, has condemned the federal government’s focus on the abduction of school children in Ogbomoso, Oyo state while similar incident in Borno state has received no major attention.

According to the group, 42 children in Mussa community, Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, were kidnapped around the same period the students in Ogbomoso were kidnapped by suspected terrorists, wondering why the latter has received more public attention.

The group said the two incidents should have received equal attention, according to a statement by  the Director General of ACI, Dr Abdullahi Idris, the organisation, which qurrried the federal government’s decision to send a high powered delegation to Ogbomoso while none was sent to Borno state.

The magazine had earlier reported that two weeks after suspected Fulani terrorists abducted over 40 students and teachers in three schools in the town, the federal government sent a delegation led by Femi Gbajabiamila, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, to Ogbomoso last weekend to meet with the parents of the victims,

Among the delegation was the National security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu amongst others, who assured the parents and the people of the town that the federal government was working with the state government to ensure the safe return of the abductees.

The federal government had also announced that  it has approved the recruitment of 1000 forests guards for the state in view of the insecurity challenges it’s currently facing.

Also, there were solidarity protests organized across the country by the Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT,  demanding freedom for the abducted students, the Union has also threatened a nationwide strike if the students were not freed from the abductors within a short time.

MCI, however, stated that the action of the Tinubu’s administration and the public is one sided considering that the two incidents happened almost at the same time, but that the Oyo incident has received more attention.

The group said: “ACI observed with concern that despite the gravity of the incident in Borno State, there has been no visible solidarity visit or coordinated advocacy by major national stakeholders such as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and several civil society and professional organisations that swiftly reacted to the Oyo incident.

“While we sympathise with all victims of insecurity across Nigeria, we strongly believe that no human life is more valuable than another, irrespective of region, ethnicity or religion.”