Governor Ambode feels 'terribly inadequate' about kidnapped students

Lagos state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has said that his government is trying its best to rescue the kidnapped students of the Lagos State Model College, Igbonla-Epe.

The Governor lamented the children's continued stay in captivity, while assuring Lagosians that the state is doing its best to get them back.

ALSO READ: "Kidnap Alert: 6 students abducted from Lagos State Model College Epe"

He addressed the issue in Abuja on Thursday, June 22, 2017, while speaking to the media.

According to him, "If there is anything that makes me feel terribly inadequate, it is my inability to quickly get those schoolchildren back.

"I want to assure everybody that we are on top of it. We cannot be putting all the efforts that we are making on the pages of newspapers. That will jeopardise our efforts to recover those children.

"I cannot compromise their security just because I want to look good in the eyes of the public. But believe me, I am working 24 hours a day to make sure that they come back safely.

"I want to assure Lagosians that Lagos is safe and we are doing our best. There are just about 33,000 policemen in the state as against 22 million people and that was why we decided to do this Neighbourhood Safety Corps just to complement what the police are doing.

"More importantly, we are investing in technology equipment that we can actually use to combat this crime. I believe and I am praying also that in the next few days, these children will be back safely."

The abduction happened in the early hours of May 25, 2017, when armed militants attacked the school's boys' hostel and escaped with six pupils on boats.

Eight suspects have been arrested in connection with the kidnappping.

ALSO READ: Panic as kidnappers write letter to another Lagos school

A couple of days ago, kidnappers claiming to be the ones responsible for the abduction of the students wrote a letter to Lagos State Model College, Kankon, Badagry, promising to invade the school and kidnap students and staff.