The lawmaker representing Kaduna South Senatorial District, Senator Sunday Katung said the continuous abduction of school children in the state portends an existential threat to the nation’s educational growth.
In a statement, on Tuesday, Senator Sunday Katung noted that the continued incidents of mass abduction of school children in Nigeria are assuming a normative pattern that is a sad reminder of previous kidnappings that Nigeria has faced.
Senator Sunday Marshall who described the kidnapping of school children as a direct attack on Nigeria’s educational institutions, noted that schools are supposed to be safe havens for learning for both students and educators and not a place of fear.
“The abduction of 287 school children and some teachers from LEA primary school, Kuriga in Chikun local government area of Kaduna State on 7th March 2024, and the reported abduction of 87 people from Kajuru station in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Sunday, 17th March 2024, including other isolated incidents scattered across the states leaves a disgusting taste in our mouth, he said in the statement.
“While I condemn the renewed spike in mass abductions, especially, in my dear Kaduna State, I extend my sincere sympathy to my friend, His Excellency, Governor Uba Sani at these trying moments. I assured the Governor that whatever form of collaboration needed to tackle this menace from my colleagues and I in the Senate would be extended to him.”
Senator Sunday also sympathised with the families of the victims, noting that with the spirit of togetherness, Nigeria will overcome the emerging evil trend.
“This deviant and abhorrent act has no place in a decent and civilized environment like ours and as an existential threat to the development of education,
“it needs to be dealt with strategically, quickly, and emphatically. This can be achieved when we devise a better response to these predictable incidents. And if we don’t, we will continue to deal with the aftermath of these kidnapping, banditry, and criminality unravelling in various forms in our communities,” he said.
