The Presidency has attributed the recent surge in kidnapping incidents nationwide to subregional geopolitical forces working to destabilize President Bola Tinubu’s government.
Ajuri Ngelale, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, made this assertion during an appearance on TVC’s Politics program hosted by Femi Akande and reported by PUNCH Online.
“We understand that and we are not sleeping. We are responding to it and we’re doing it in a concerted way, with our neighbors.
“And it is worth noting that the United States government has also pledged its assistance to ensure that there is a full return of all of the schoolchildren who were kidnapped recently in Kaduna.
“But the point is we are going to continue to intensify our collaboration not just within the region, but internationally to make sure that some of the regional actors that are conspiring against our nation are brought to justice and ultimately silenced in the future,” he said.
These remarks came in the wake of the abduction of over 280 students and teachers from Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School in Kuriga, Kaduna State. Terrorists attacked the Kuriga area of Chikun Local Government Area, Kaduna, leading to the kidnapping.
The United Nations confirmed the abduction of over 200 individuals from an internally displaced persons camp in Ngala Local Government Area of Borno State. The UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Fall, reported that women, boys, and girls were taken while gathering firewood.
Ngelale assured that the Federal Government is addressing these challenges with US support to secure the release of kidnapped students and counter regional destabilizing forces. Collaboration with neighboring countries and international partners is being intensified to combat these threats effectively.
