Atiku wants abducted Zamfara students rescued immediately

Former vice president, Atiku Abubabar, has called on security agents to immediately rescue dozens of students abducted from Government Day Secondary School, Kaya, in Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

At least 73 students were abducted by bandits who attacked the school around noon on Wednesday, September 1, 2021.

Atiku said in a statement on Thursday, September 2 the attack is a setback for a state already playing catch up in the critical area of development.

He said no effort should be spared for a speedy recovery of the students.

The former presidential candidate suggested that the government should deploy a School Protection Standby Unit exclusively to protect schools in areas prone to such attacks.

"If we don't take preemptive actions, I fear that education in the already disadvantaged regions may suffer irreversible losses," he said.

Wednesday's attack is the third major school abduction in Zamfara in the past six months.

The 317 schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe in February were released days later.

20 students and school staff abducted from the College of Agriculture and Animal Health in Bakura last month were released 11 days later, just last week.

"This continued assault on the bedrock of our development is not acceptable," Atiku said on Thursday.

Hundreds of students have been kidnapped from schools in Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Edo, Benue, Zamfara, and Plateau since last December, a huge spike following in the footsteps of high-profile abductions in Chibok, Borno in 2014, and Dapchi, Yobe in 2018.

A majority of the students have been released after negotiations between the government, or families, and the kidnappers, but many others currently remain in captivity, and some killed by their captors.