Mass abduction of Kebbi students exposes failures in govt’s security strategy – HURIWA

The early-morning raid on Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Danko Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, where terrorists seized scores of female students, has renewed scrutiny of the federal government’s school safety claims.

Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) on Monday said the incident contradicts government assurances that heavy investments had been made under the national school security initiative.

The organisation also questioned the fate of the N595 billion reportedly allocated to the country’s intelligence community.

In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA condemned the attack, describing it as a glaring failure of security and intelligence systems.

“We call on the heads of the security institutions, the armed forces, the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force, to immediately activate mechanisms to chase these terrorists, rescue the hostages who are our daughters, arrest, neutralise or decimate the terrorists abductors or bring them to swift justice.

” We urge the government to put foolproof and sustainable security and intelligence gathering initiatives all across the country to prevent reoccurrence of such a dastardly crimes of mass abduction of students. Those who kidnap students are terrorists and must be dealt with in accordance with the extant counter terrorism law of the Federation. Government must realise that the primary duty it owes the citizens is to protect their lives and property from wanton terrorists attacks and mass killings,” HURIWA said.

The group urged authorities to prioritise concrete, sustained protections for schoolchildren nationwide rather than “relying on conjecture.”

HURIWA also criticised the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, for comments he made in May claiming the country had recorded no school abductions in the previous year.

“I am the chief education officer of Nigeria now and I would tell you that no abduction has occurred in schools in the last 12 months. This is not coincidence This is due to the clear, focused government policies of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

“The president has spent much on security like no government has done in the last 20 years. We are using both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies. I will leave the other details for the NSA to discuss. But what we have done to make our schools safer…we have a safe school initiative that is in place,” Alausa was quoted to have said.

According to the rights group, the latest attack in Kebbi state shows that government officials have been “leaning on propaganda” instead of deploying adequate manpower and resources to ensure safety in schools.

HURIWA noted that the gunmen struck around 4:00 a.m., shortly before dawn prayers. Local accounts indicate the assailants killed a staff member, injured a security guard, and fled with several girls.

The organisation added that Kebbi State has faced a troubling rise in school abductions in recent years. It recalled the June 17, 2021 attack on the Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri, where gunmen killed a police officer and abducted at least 80 students and five teachers.

The group questioned why such incidents persist despite past tragedies in Borno, Kaduna, Yobe, and Kebbi states, arguing that security agencies should prioritise prevention before attacks occur.

“We wonder why the National Assembly members go to bed once they approved the massive budgets for security and intelligence community without carrying out efficient oversight functions on the relevant security institutions to compel the mainstreaming of the twin values of accountability and transparency.

“There is a story making the rounds that the law makers deliberately undermine their oversight functions by compromising with the security heads because of pecuniary benefits,” it said.