•The Senate
The Northern Senators Forum (NSF) has said that the escalation of kidnappings in the North, particularly Kaduna State lately, is not only “reprehensible” but also calls for “urgent and resolute action” to tackle the mass abductions of citizens.
As a body, it said it had the mandate to ensure that the security situation in the region improved significantly and would spare no efforts in achieving it for the safety of the people, reports Nigerian Tribune.
The Chairman of the NSF, Sen. Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, in a statement in Abuja today, gave a timeline of kidnapping cases in Kaduna state in March alone, beginning with the kidnapping of 286 students and staff from L.E.A school in Kuriga on March 7.
On March 8, barely 24 hours later, worshippers were attacked in a mosque, while on March 12, another set of 61 persons was abducted in Kaduna.
Yar’Adua added that this was followed by the kidnapping of “14 individuals on March 17th, and a staggering total of 87 individuals in Kajuru on March 18th, amongst others.”
The NSF, which condemned the series of attacks on citizens in the north, called for measures that must be activated to end the menace and bring the perpetrators to book.
Yar’Adua added, “We are committed to pursuing a lasting solution to this menace.
“We will not rest until the security situation is significantly improved and the perpetrators of these heinous acts are brought to justice.
“It is our core duty and mandate, and we will spare no effort in fulfilling it for the greater good of our people and our nation.”
The kidnappers of the 286 school children had allegedly demanded N1 billion as ransom for their release and gave a 20-day ultimatum for the money to be or they would begin to kill the victims.
This came as President Bola Tinubu gave marching orders to security agencies to go after the kidnappers and secure the release of victims.
The president also directed that no ransom should be paid as existing laws in the country forbid the payment of ransom to secure the release of kidnapped victims.
“I have received briefings from security chiefs on the two incidents in Borno and Kaduna, and I am confident that the victims will be rescued.
“Nothing else is acceptable to me and the waiting family members of these abducted citizens. Justice will be decisively administered”, Tinubu had said.
On its part, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had faulted the country’s federal policing system, calling for urgent restructuring to give more power to states to tackle security challenges.
Its Executive Secretary, Mr Anthony Ojukwu, while speaking in Abuja, had stated that the policing system paid more attention to the security of the elite than the masses.
Ojukwu noted, “We are at a crossroads where every aspect of our life as Nigerians is not working. For me, the greatest attraction was the issue of state police tackling insecurities.
“We have so many complaints about the federal police. Look at the origin. It started from being something the colonial master introduced to force us to pay taxes. So ab initio, it was formed to protect the authorities.
“When we now got our independence, there was no concerted effort to re-orientate the Nigerian police. That was the issue. These guys are just protecting the elite, particularly the executive and legislature. Governors have a convoy of 1,000 policemen, leaving the rest of us unprotected.
“That is why you can go on a road that stretches about 10km and you won’t see one policeman. That is also why you can come into a secondary school and take away 282 students. Do you even know what 282 students look like? If you want to bring in luxury buses, you will need about three or four of them to pack them. And if you decide to use motorcycles, you need about 200 to lift these children.”
