Residents of Borno State have criticised the Federal Government over what they described as a lack of urgency in responding to the abduction of 42 pupils and students from Mussa community in Askira Uba Local Government Area.
The residents said the government’s response contrasts sharply with its reaction to a similar kidnapping incident in Oyo State, where abducted pupils and teachers attracted immediate federal attention.
Speaking on Monday, the Chairman of the Network of Civil Society Organisations in Borno State, Abubakar Suleiman, said victims of both incidents deserved equal treatment.
He said: “The federal government visited Oyo State with a high-powered delegation, including the National Security Adviser, Minister of Defense, Chief of Staff to the President, among others, with a helicopter and landed at the local government where the abduction took place.”
Suleiman added: “In the case of Borno, around 416 people were kidnapped in Ngoshe on the 3rd of May. There has not been any federal government intervention.
“We also had another incident on the 16 of May; 42 students were kidnapped in Askira Uba.
“There was no federal government delegation.
“This doesn’t demonstrate that the federal government is treating victims equally.”
He called on the authorities to intensify efforts to rescue those still in captivity.
Suleiman said: “Our call is for the government to intensify the search, to come and interact with parents and assure them that their children will be united with them as soon as possible.
“They should also provide us with updates on the issue and let us know when the children are coming back.”
A political analyst in the state, Abubakar Kareto, also condemned the attacks and questioned the difference in official responses.
He said: “Both abductions of the 42 pupils from the Mussa community in Askira Uba, Borno State, taken by Boko Haram insurgents, and the Oriire in Oyo State, where 46 students and teachers were taken, are heartbreaking reminders that rural schools remain highly vulnerable soft targets and are exposing how unsafe it is to send kids to school in Nigeria.”
Kareto noted that both incidents occurred on the same day but attracted different levels of attention from the Federal Government.
He said: “The Oyo State attack also occurred on the very day that of Askira Uba.
“While the government launched a rapid, high-profile response to the Oyo incident, including a federal visit led by the Chief of Staff and accompanied by the National Security Adviser, which also followed with a decision to immediately deploy 1,000 forest guards, the Borno abduction has mostly received standard rhetorical condemnations with no visible energy that can be compared in any way to the Oyo State incident.”
According to him, the situation creates the impression of unequal security priorities.
He said: “Therefore, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the military high command should deploy the exact intensity of kinetic and intelligence resources to safely rescue the Askira Uba children.
“This will make everyone, not only the victim, feel belonged.”
Also reacting, President of the Borno South Youths Alliance Forum, Samaila Kaigama, urged political leaders in the state to emulate the approach adopted by leaders in the South-West.
He said: “Governor Zulum, where are our 40-plus Askira Uba children? Is Governor Makinde of Oyo State doing something you ought to have done to get federal intervention?”
Kaigama added: “Over 40 students were kidnapped, and the only visible effort from those in charge was the presentation of N10 million to traditional rulers in Askira Uba.
“The people are asking: for what exactly? Is it compensation for the pain and suffering the affected families are going through?”
He further criticised the state’s response to public concerns.
Kaigama said: “However, they were swift enough to deploy battalions of military personnel to a protest ground to prevent the exposure of what many perceive as their undemocratic and nonchalant attitude toward the masses.”
He added: “Let the world know and remember: no life is better than another, and no zone in Nigeria is more important than another.”
The 42 pupils and students were abducted on May 16 after suspected Boko Haram insurgents attacked Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira Uba Local Government Area.
