Kaduna abductions: "This is not acceptable", Students to protest killings - NANS President, Asefon

By One Class

Following the tragic murder of three of the abducted students of the Greenfield University in Kaduna on Friday, the National Association of Nigerian Students has said it will embark on mass protests to demand the release of the remaining students in captivity.

The students body specifically said it would convey an emergency action meeting in Kaduna State during the week and mobilise students around the North-West to protest the incessant kidnapping of students and attacks on schools by bandits.

“This is not acceptable,” NANS National President, Sunday Asefon, said on Saturday while condemning the students’ murder.

While disclosing its plan to Sunday PUNCH, Asefon said the continued attacks on schools and the kidnapping of students were a declaration of war on formal education.

Bandits had on Tuesday night reportedly kidnapped 23 students of the Greenfield University, killing a staff member during a shooting spree.

The university, which is privately owned, is located along the Kaduna-Abuja Highway in Kasarami, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The bandits later made contact with the parents and demanded a ransom of N800m for the students’ release.

But, on Friday, the state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr Samuel Aruwan, in a statement broke the sad news that three of the students had been killed by the bandits.

The corpses of the slain students – two females and a male – were reportedly dumped close to the university.

The identifies of the students were later revealed as Sadiq Sanga, Precious Nwakacha, and Dorothy Yohanna.

The development has sparked nationwide outrage and mourning, while the parents of the abducted students have been left devastated.

Also in Kaduna State, bandits had on March 11 abducted 39 students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation in Mando, Igabi Local Government Area of the state.

Ten of the students have been released by the bandits, while 29 remain in captivity to date. The kidnappers are demanding N500m ransom.

Bemoaning the murder of the three Greenfield University students, kidnapping, and attacks on schools, the President of NANS, Asefon, said the association would embark on mass protests, calling on the government to do everything possible to ensure the release of the remaining students in captivity.

He said, “This is not acceptable anymore; the government must do everything possible to ensure our schools are protected. We call on the Kaduna State Government to do everything necessary to ensure that all kidnapped students in the state are released as soon as possible.

“In the week, we shall convey an emergency action meeting in Kaduna State and mobilise students around the North-West to protest the incessant kidnapping of our students.”

Asefon said if the government could not ensure the security of lives and property around campuses, it meant the government had failed in its core mandate of security.

He said, “The constant kidnapping of our students is a direct declaration of war on formal education in Nigeria. It is a great threat to our territorial sovereignty. If students can no longer go to school with the assurance that they will come back in peace, then we are in a war situation.

“NANS wishes to advise government at all levels to be proactive and consider all campuses red zones that must be secured always. Adequate security must be made available around all schools and campuses, especially in the North-West to ensure students can sleep on campus with their two eyes closed.”

Asefon said there was an immediate need for the convocation of a national security summit to galvanise new ideas on combating banditry and kidnapping in Nigeria.

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