Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman has appealed for the safe release of the scores of pupils abducted from a primary school in Kaduna state
About 287 pupils were reportedly kidnapped from the LEA Primary School in Kuriga town of Chukun Local Government Area in Kaduna State on Thursday by suspected terrorists.
Professor Tahir at a media briefing in Abuja Nigeria called on security agencies and the Kaduna state government to do everything possible to bring the pupils back unhurt before the Muslim fasting season (Ramadan) begins.
He said the Ministry has planned to visit the school and also in touch with security agents, the school, and some of the parents of the abductees.
The Minister lamented that cases of kidnapping such as the current one are responsible for low enrollment which leads to out-of-school children in the country.
Professor Tahir said the Ministry under the Safe School initiative which involves security agencies and other stakeholders will continue to work on how to protect schools across the country.
“This Kidnapping is one too many. We were shocked when the news came to us. When we thought that we were getting over such issues because of the decrease in kidnappings in schools in recent times, this news came to us last night.
“Our heart goes out to the children, their parents, and the school. For those children who were preparing for their livelihood to be left out there in the cold is painful. We pray to God to protect them.
“We will be working with security agencies under the Safe School initiative to bring the Kidnapped children back home quickly. We passionately appeal to the security heads in the country to ensure that the children are brought to their homes and schools safely.
“We are in touch with the government of Kaduna state and security agencies. It is one of the reasons for low enrollment that leads to out-of-school children in the country. It is painful,” he said.
The Minister urged the security agencies to also speedily respond to the earlier directive given by Nigeria President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the rescue of the pupils.
