Senator Shehu Sani has asked the authorities to negotiate with the bandits who killed one student and abducted several others at the Government Science College Kagara in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.
The lawmaker said on Thursday that the boys should be negotiated out of danger because the bandits have nothing to lose and will not hesitate to harm the abductees.
Following the abduction which took place in the early hours of Wednesday, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the armed forces and police to ensure the safe return of the students and officials abducted, a directive that has since led security operatives to launch rescue missions around the region.
Mr Sani who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, however, believes that this is not the time to solely use military might, arguing that negotiation is key to rescuing those who were kidnapped in Kagara.
“We have not learnt our lessons from Dapchi, Chibok, Kankara and now we are in Kagara. How we can get these boys out there is no other way than to receive the phone calls of those bandits who kidnapped them and negotiate the way these boys can safely return back home.
“Kidnappings or abductions and violence has been a daily issue… You can use whatever you want to use be it helicopter or operation Puff Adder or whatever operation you want to use against the bandits, but I think in the interest of the safety and for the lives of these boys, hold on with your bravado, with your helicopter and planes until these boys are safely negotiated out of danger,” Senator Sani stated.
The legislator further noted that the state and the nation have failed the lads because those in authority refuse to learn from previous abductions.
Kagara Abduction: We Must Stop Rewarding Criminality – Atiku Abubakar
While Senator Sani thinks negotiation is the answer to the Kagara Abduction, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar says Nigeria must stop rewarding criminality, warning that doing so will result in more crimes being perpetrated.
In a statement he personally signed, Abubakar lamented the deteriorating state of insecurity in the country, describing the menace as alarming.
He asked the Federal Government to tackle cases of abductions by ending what he calls the reign of impunity.
“Now is not the time for fingers to point in blame. Our nation needs solutions. And we have now seen that paying ransoms, and allowing criminals to profit from their criminality is not a solution,” he said.
“When you reward crimes, the end result is more crime. The only long-term solution to the insecurity challenge Nigeria is facing is to end the reign of impunity.
“The Federal Government must enforce the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria against abductions and kidnappings, by apprehending the criminals, trying them, and making an example of those convicted, to serve as a deterrent to others.”
He also called for the protection of schoolchildren in the affected states, asking the Nigerian government to deploy all-around security personnel.
The ex-vice president said if it is “not feasible to have armed military guards in all schools, then each state in the should as a matter of urgency replicate the Civilian Joint Task Force idea, that has worked so well in Borno and deploy them to each school, along with men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.”
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