UNICEF, in a statement yesterday by its Executive Director,
Ms. Henrietta Fore, lamented that no fewer than 950 students were abducted in
Nigeria since December 2020.
Also, people whose children and wards were kidnapped from
Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna on Monday, have accused the school
authorities of complacency and negligence, for not taking action to beef up
security around the premises, after receiving a threat letter from bandits
planning to kidnap the pupils.
UNICEF stated that over the past six weeks alone, nearly 500
children were abducted in four separate incidents in both the North-central and
North-west, with many still in captivity.
UNICEF said on July 5, 2020, 150 students were reportedly
abducted from a school in Kaduna State, marking the latest incident in an
alarming spate of attacks against children and abductions, including of
students, in parts of West and Central Africa.
Fore added that such incidents appeared to be increasing in
frequency, raising fears for the safety and well-being of the region’s
children.
Citing the latest report of the United Nations
Secretary-General on children and armed conflict, UNICEF said one in every
three child victims of grave violations had been in West, and Central Africa.
It also highlighted the attacks on civilians and other
violations of international humanitarian law in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central
African Republic, DRC and Niger Republic.
UNICEF said: “Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the UN estimates that
at least 950 students have been abducted from their schools by armed men since
December. Over the past six weeks alone, nearly 500 children were abducted in
four separate incidents across the central and North-west parts of the country.
Many of these children have not yet been returned. It is hard to fathom the
pain and fear that their families and loved ones are suffering in their
absence.
“It is not enough to condemn these crimes, not when millions
of children face a worsening protection crisis. Children living in these areas
need concerted action to ensure that they can safely live and go to school or
fetch water without fear of being attacked or taken from their families.”
According to Fore, non-state armed groups and all parties to
conflict committing violations of children’s rights – have a moral and legal
obligation to immediately cease attacks against civilians and to respect and
protect civilians and civilian objects during any military operations.
Fore also urged them not to impede but facilitate the
efforts of UNICEF and other humanitarian actors working to reach vulnerable
children.
She said: “The international community also has an important
role to play. We need our donors to increase their contributions so that we can
expand our work to reduce children’s vulnerabilities and increase their
resilience to keep them safe from harm. These efforts include creating safe
temporary learning environments for children in areas where schools have been
closed because of insecurity, providing psychosocial support to children
affected by violence, and supporting education on mine risk awareness.”
According to her, every effort must be made to reverse the
spiraling protection crisis for children as the region is on the brink of
catastrophe.”
Parents of kidnapped pupils accuse Kaduna school of negligence
Meanwhile, people whose children and wards were kidnapped
from Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna on Monday have accused the school
authorities of complacency and negligence, for not taking action to beef up
security around the premises, after receiving a threat letter from bandits,
planning to kidnap the pupils.
The bandits, last Sunday, sent a threat letter to the
school, announcing their plan to kidnap the pupils on Tuesday, but brought
forward the timeline by a day when they kidnapped over 149 pupils, while 28
were said to have escaped.
The parents who formed different prayer groups in the school
compound yesterday, called on God to intervene and protect their children and
wards in captivity.
They said they had to go spiritual because they had lost
confidence in the government in protecting lives and property.
They also blamed the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir
el-Rufai, for not doing enough to rescue kidnapped pupils.
They said the show of expression of concern by the state
government and the federal government was not enough to bring back their
children and wards.
Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Kaduna
State Chapter, Rev. John Hayab, who spoke yesterday on ARISE NEWS Channels
confirmed that the pupils got a letter on Sunday from the bandits.
According to him, the pupils showed the letter to their
patron, who dismissed the threat letter and accused them of being unnecessarily
afraid of writing their examinations that were supposed to start the next day.
He said the pupils also took the letter to the matron of the
female students and got the same reaction from her.
He said: “Instead of Tuesday, the bandits struck on Monday
and kidnapped several students, which I see as negligence on the part of the
school authority, who had been pre-informed of the plan to kidnap the students.
“The distance between the school and the police station in
that area is about one kilometre and the distance between the school and the
divisional police headquarters in the state is between six and seven
kilometres. I cannot understand why the school authority could not take the
threat letter serious and inform the police for necessary action
“As a Baptist school, owned by the Baptist Church, I think
the church should investigate the school authority for their negligence.”
He added that the action of the school matron and the school
authority compounded the African challenge, where parents do not take their
children seriously, even when they are saying something serious, just because
they are children.
He advised parents and teachers to always listen to
children, respect them and take them seriously whenever they lodge complaints.
He said: “Apart from being the CAN chairman of Kaduna State,
I am a parent and my child attends the school and I am also a pastor in Baptist
Church, which was the reason I sent my son who is in SS3 to that school.
“So, if the expression of concern can rescue those in
captivity and put an end to kidnapping, then kidnapping would have long ended
in Kaduna State and in other states of the federation.”
According to him, the current demand for food items by the
bandits, without talking about ransom, showed that the bandits were confident
that nobody, including the government, could bring them to order.
“If the bandits are on the run, they will not be asking for
food items like rice, beans, garri, and oil to feed students in captivity. The
best they can do is to ask for ransom, but instead of ransom, they are
demanding for food items. They make these demands because they know that
government and the parents can do nothing to them,” Hayab said.
Narrating the ordeal of his son during the kidnapping, Hayab
said his 16-year- old son was among the few that escaped when the bandits
struck.
He, however, said he would not disclose everything his son
told him because the government had already started denying some of the things
that happened when the pupils were kidnapped.