Parents of the abducted students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, Kaduna state, have given governments at all levels 48 hours to rescue their wards.
The parents made this known on Monday, when they blocked the Mando/Kaduna airport road leading to the school in a protest.
On Thursday, March 11, 2021, 39 students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, were kidnapped from their school premises by gun-wielding bandits.
Last Saturday a video that went viral after it was released, showed the students crying and calling on the government to help secure their release by paying the N500 million ransom requested by the kidnappers.
The angry parents have however, questioned the government’s silence over the issue, saying it is no longer acceptable. They revealed that neither the government nor the school authority has said anything to them or made any effort (to the best of their knowledge) to rescue the students from the bandits.
Friday Sani the leader of the victims’ parents in a press conference said: “We have called this press conference to address the would on the excruciatingly painful development surrounding the kidnap of 39 of our sons and daughters, students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, Igabi Local Government Area, Kaduna, Nigeria.
You would recall that on the night of 11th March, 2021, gunmen invaded the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, and forcefully abducted 39 students of the Institution at gun point-23 of them are female students while 16 are male. Several others sustained varying degrees of injuries while running for their dear lives
The bandits had a field day on the night of capture and for over an hour carried out their nefarious activity largely unchallenged until the military came after 3 batches of students had been taken out of the college through the perimeter fence.
Not a single one of the 39 abducted students has been rescued. We have put our trust in the government and school authority to rescue the students in good time and safely, but that has not happened.
It is now 12 dark dreary days since the unfortunate incident happened and we as parents have not received any positive message from either the school management, the Minister of Environment under whose ministry the school is, or the Kaduna State Government under whose territorial jurisdiction the school is located. This silence is unacceptable as it only feeds our hopelessness with each passing day.”
Furthermore, he said some of the students were kidnapped almost naked with some of the ladies barely covering themselves. He thereafter asked the government to act immediately.
Sani pointed out that this same incident happened in Katsina, Zamfara, and also Niger States and the government responded quickly to ensure the release of the kidnapped victims, so why is the case of the 39 students any different? Why are the innocent students paying for the government’s incompetence in providing security for the lives and properties of Nigerians? Or is it a crime to seek education in schools?
The parents of the kidnapped victims also called on Human Right Organizations, NGOs, NBA, ASUU, the United Nations, and all well-meaning citizens to come to the rescue of the 39 students.
“Until our plea is heard and granted, we will continue to call on the government for the release of our children” they said.
