‘Unfortunate trends are becoming the new normal’ — JNI condemns ‘despicable’ Kagara attack

The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) has condemned the attack on the Government Science College, Kagara, Niger state, describing it as “incredible and despicable”.

On Wednesday morning, bandits had abducted 27 students and 15 others from the school.

While the federal government had deployed a security team to join the state in its rescue efforts, local vigilantes have joined forces to ensure safe release of the victims.

As of Friday afternoon, Abubakar Bello, governor of Niger, had said negotiations for the release of the kidnapped persons had reached the “final stage”.

In a statement issued on Friday by Khalid Aliyu, JNI secretary-general, the group had condemned the lack of security across schools in Nigeria, and urged the federal government to take steps to remedy the situation.

According to NAN, JNI also called for actions to evict all illegal occupants of forest reserves across Nigeria.

“This is absolutely incredible, despicable and condemnable. Ordinarily, the school abduction should have been averted, if there was adequate security surveillance and alertness around our boarding schools. These unfortunate trends are becoming the new normal,” the statement reads.

“Worst still, Kagara town, and by extension Niger State, has become infamous, given the serial attacks by bandits and other criminals in recent past.

“Isn’t intelligence part of security networking? Why is it that these repeated actions have continued clandestinely without trace? Unfortunately, these hapless situations appear to have escaped our memories.

“What perplexes us in recent years of these kidnappings and abductions is that criminals brazenly act unchallenged. Make no mistake, the abduction is a classic example of the philosophical foundation of Boko Haram – that western education is forbidden. That is why their targets are always on boarding schools, especially science schools, considered atheistic in pedagogy.

“Government must, nevertheless, do everything possible to enhance and secure the territorial integrity of Nigeria from criminalities, and spare no efforts to immediately return all the kidnapped passengers and the abducted staff and students unscathed.

“Nigerian citizens are all implored to see this insecurity challenge as a national disaster that needs our respective patriotic and collective support, by way of divulging relevant intelligence to those concerned. Any suspicious activities in or around our domains should be reported, so as to finally bring an end to this scourge.

“In the same vein, government should, as a matter of national emergency, secure all forests in Nigeria. Government should engage willing Nigerians under whatever nomenclature, to help clear off the forest reserves from undesirable elements, while maintaining our natural environment and eco-system.”