Deborah Akinyosoye
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged the Federal Government to immediately declare a state of emergency on insecurity following another mass abduction of schoolchildren in Niger State.
Atiku, reacting to Friday’s attack on St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area, warned that the spiraling kidnappings across the country demand urgent and extraordinary action.
“Not again. This is truly heartbreaking,” he wrote on X.
“How many more lives must be shattered before decisive action is taken? It is not too late for the government to finally declare a state of emergency on insecurity and confront this menace with the urgency it deserves,” the former Vice President added.
Gunmen reportedly invaded the Catholic-owned school in the early hours of Friday, arriving in large numbers on more than 60 motorcycles and accompanied by a van before whisking away an unspecified number of students.
The Niger incident is the most recent in a growing wave of school kidnappings. It occurred less than a week after bandits abducted 26 students from Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State , an attack that also claimed the life of Vice Principal Hassan Makuku, who attempted to resist the gunmen.
The incident also follows the abduction of at least 30 worshippers during a deadly attack on the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, where three people were killed.
In his reaction to the previous mass abduction of students, President Bola Tinubu condemned the attacks and commiserated with the families of victims.
The President also instructed the Vice President, Kashim Shettima to visit the victims.