Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on insecurity following the recent mass abduction of schoolchildren in Niger State. This appeal comes in response to the attack on St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area, where armed assailants arrived on motorcycles and abducted an unspecified number of students.
Atiku expressed his heartbreak over the ongoing kidnappings, stating, “Not again. This is truly heartbreaking,” and emphasized the need for urgent governmental action. He questioned how many more lives need to be affected before the government takes decisive steps against the growing insecurity.
This latest incident follows a pattern of school kidnappings in Nigeria, including the recent abduction of 26 students from Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School in Kebbi State, which resulted in the death of the school’s Vice Principal, Hassan Makuku.
In a separate response, President Bola Tinubu condemned these attacks and expressed his condolences to the victims’ families. He has tasked Vice President Kashim Shettima with visiting those affected.
The repeated security breaches have intensified discussions around the necessity of a strategic response from authorities to combat the rising tide of violent crime in the country.
