Abduction: Payment Of Ransom Will Cause Long Term Destruction — Atiku

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has advised against payment
of ransom to kidnappers in Nigeria, as he urged government to
declare a state of emergency in the education sector.

Mr Abubakar gave the advice in his reaction to the kidnap of
some school pupils in Kaduna State reported on Monday.

“It is a short term solution that will cause much long term
destruction. We must, as a nation, impose law and order now, or we
will bequeath lawlessness and disorder to the next generation,” he
said.

Mr Abubakar also urged the federal government to declare an
emergency in the education sector.

“With the latest Kaduna school abduction, I repeat my call for
the FG to declare a state of emergency in the education sector and
to post 24-hour armed guards at every school in the affected and
neighbouring states. No expense must be spared to keep our schools
safe.

”With 13.5 million children, Nigeria is already the world
headquarters for out-of-school kids. This can only make things
worse. It behooves on us as a nation to act decisively and excise
this cancer of school abductions from our polity with clinically
precise policies,” he wrote on Twitter.

The Kaduna State Government, on Monday, said some pupils and
teachers were kidnapped in a primary school in Rema in Birnin Gwari
Local Government Area of the state.

The state’s commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs,
Samuel Aruwan, said the incident occurred at an LEA Primary School
in the area but the number of those missing is yet to be
ascertained.

This is the second mass kidnap in the state in a week and the
fifth mass abduction of school children in Northern Nigeria within
four months.

Hundreds of students had been kidnapped in Kankara college,
Kastina State; Government Science College in Kagara, Niger State
and Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara
State.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has advised against payment
of ransom to kidnappers in Nigeria, as he urged government to
declare a state of emergency in the education sector.

Mr Abubakar gave the advice in his reaction to the kidnap of
some school pupils in Kaduna State reported on Monday.

“It is a short term solution that will cause much long term
destruction. We must, as a nation, impose law and order now, or we
will bequeath lawlessness and disorder to the next generation,” he
said.

Mr Abubakar also urged the federal government to declare an
emergency in the education sector.

“With the latest Kaduna school abduction, I repeat my call for
the FG to declare a state of emergency in the education sector and
to post 24-hour armed guards at every school in the affected and
neighbouring states. No expense must be spared to keep our schools
safe.

”With 13.5 million children, Nigeria is already the world
headquarters for out-of-school kids. This can only make things
worse. It behooves on us as a nation to act decisively and excise
this cancer of school abductions from our polity with clinically
precise policies,” he wrote on Twitter.

The Kaduna State Government, on Monday, said some pupils and
teachers were kidnapped in a primary school in Rema in Birnin Gwari
Local Government Area of the state.

The state’s commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs,
Samuel Aruwan, said the incident occurred at an LEA Primary School
in the area but the number of those missing is yet to be
ascertained.

This is the second mass kidnap in the state in a week and the
fifth mass abduction of school children in Northern Nigeria within
four months.

Hundreds of students had been kidnapped in Kankara college,
Kastina State; Government Science College in Kagara, Niger State
and Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara
State.