Kaduna school abduction: Our children cannot cope in the bush, parent cries out

Parents of the abducted students of Bethel Baptist High School, Damishi, Kaduna, have called on the state government to help “bring back” their children.

Suspected bandits had on Monday kidnapped an unknown number of students from the school.

Subsequently, Mohammed Jalige, Kaduna police spokesman, said the police “gave the bandits a hot pursuit” and rescued 26 students.

Angry parents gathered at the school’s premises on Tuesday to demand the “immediate” rescue of their children.

Speaking with TheCable during a live broadcast from the school, one of the parents said she the children “are in pain” and “cannot cope in the bush”.

“These children are not adults, they are kids, they cannot cope there. If we all go home and relax, what about them in the bush? I want us to protest so people will know they are in pain, they cannot cope there, they are in the bush. We want the world to know that these kids are in pain. The leaders are giving our children punishment and they are calling the kids the leaders of tomorrow. Let them bring out children back to us,” she said.

Another parent called on the government to “do the needful” and bring back the abducted students.

“Yesterday they promised us that 40 children were remaining in the bush and we should please stop the protest so that they will go and bring these children, we said no problem. We decided as mothers, to sympathize and leave the road so that they can go and bring those children, then we’ll take them to the hospital,” she said.

“The government officials gave us assurance that they are going to bring them, that they’ve been called. And we cooperated with them since there’s a positive result. But it was a lie, It was propaganda. Since yesterday, we left here around 10pm waiting for those 40 not knowing that it was hopeless.”

Meanwhile, the state police said a rescue operation is still ongoing to ensure that all victims are safely returned.

Following the abduction of the students, the Kaduna government ordered the closure of 13 schools in the state, citing “security threats”.