Niger

  The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the Northern Region and the FCT, Rev. John Hayab, has revealed that a parent died of a heart attack following the abduction of his three children at St Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State. Speaking to ARISE News on Tuesday, Hayab described the trauma faced by families whose children were kidnapped in Kebbi, Kwara, and Niger states over the past week. He said the man, simply identified as Mr Anthony, was overwhelmed by the shock of losing his children. “People want to see concrete action. Imagine a mother or a father whose daughter… one of the parents (Mr Anthony) of these girls picked in the school, died yesterday of a heart attack because three of his children are victims,” he said. PUNCH Online has not been able to independently verify his claim. But he added, “People don’t understand that when you tell it as it is, you’re not speaking against anybody; you are only trying to state the problem. “The pains and the trauma are still very fresh. We tried speaking to the parents today, and they were scared of speaking to us.” PUNCH Online reported that parents of the dozens of children abducted from the Catholic school in Niger State are growing increasingly desperate. Speaking to the leadership of the church in Kontagora, Hayab said, “It was a very sad thing. You can imagine a man in shock because three children… he would not know what to explain, what is happening to them.” “People don’t understand this. These children have not slept, they have not bathed, and their parents cannot even explain where they are,” he stressed. Hayab also revealed that reports from locals in Niger State showed no visible security presence, stating that Nigerians want action, not statements. “The onus is now on the Nigerian security agencies to ensure that we don’t speak about this on television. People want to see concrete action,” he said. He added that 50 senior students returned on their own after fleeing into the bush during the bandit attack, but over 265 students remain unaccounted for, most aged between nine and 14. On November 23, the Niger State Chairman of CAN revealed that 50 of the abducted pupils have reportedly escaped from their captors and reunited with their parents. Hayab welcomed the release of 24 schoolgirls from Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, but warned that the situation has left families “traumatised” and exposed longstanding failures in Nigeria’s security system. The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed their release in a statement issued on Tuesday. “Everybody is worried, everybody is angry, everybody needs a stop. It has been a traumatic week for parents, for leaders and for our security men,” he said. Despite the scale of insecurity, Hayab maintained that Nigeria has the manpower to defeat terrorists if resources are properly allocated. “A large chunk of those who are supposed to secure Nigerians are securing VIPs. Many police officers are guarding banks. Banks should recruit their own security, but they are taking advantage of what is going on,” he said. “When proper deployment is done, we will be able to get rid of these things. We have what it takes, but we are not deploying it,” he added. However, the Special Protection Unit of the Nigeria Police Force has ordered all officers attached to VIPs and beats nationwide to return to their bases. This followed a directive issued on November 23 by President Bola Tinubu, who ordered the immediate withdrawal of police officers assigned to VIP security across the country.