President Bola Tinubu has ordered security agencies to immediately rescue the remaining female students of the Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State, who were kidnapped by bandits on Friday.
The president expressed his condemnation of the abduction, saying there was no moral justification for such heinous crimes against innocent victims whose only “offense” was their pursuit of quality education.
He also commiserated with the families of the affected students and assured them that his administration would not spare any effort in ensuring their safe return.
He said his government was committed to protecting every Nigerian citizen and ensuring that educational institutions remained sanctuaries of knowledge, growth, and opportunity, and free from the menace of terrorism.
According to eyewitnesses and university officials, the bandits stormed the university premises around 3:00 a.m. on Friday, targeting three female hostels and abducting 24 female and six male students.
The bandits also ransacked some offices and exchanged fire with soldiers who tried to stop them.
However, the police said they had deployed a joint security task force to rescue the students and arrest the perpetrators.
They also confirmed that seven of the abducted students had been rescued and reunited with the management of the school.
The abduction of the Gusau students is the latest in a series of mass kidnappings from schools in Nigeria, mostly in the north-west and north-central regions.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), a socio-political group in northern Nigeria, has described the kidnapping of the students as a threat to girl-child education in the region.
It urged the federal government to rejig its security architecture and come up with new strategies to tackle the security challenges facing schools and communities.
