Atiku Laments Abduction Of Schoolgirls In The North

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has commiserated with the families of the abducted female students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Mando in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The PUNCH learnt that an unspecified number of girls were abducted from their school on Friday by gunmen.

The abduction comes barely two weeks after nearly 300 female students of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe in Niger State regain their freedom from bandits who had abducted them from their school.

In 2014, Nigeria witnessed the abduction of over 200 girls from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State by Boko Haram terrorists.

In 2018, 110 girls from Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi in Yobe State were also abducted by Boko Haram.

Reacting to the trend, Atiku, on his verified Twitter handle, expressed worries about the effect it will have on the education of the girl child in the North.

“A situation where only girl students—an already vulnerable group that is playing catch-up in the North, is specifically targeted for abduction raises serious concerns,” he said.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the affected students’ families, even as I urge that no resources should be spared to secure their release. The question is: how long shall we continue with this situation?”