BBOG knocks President Buhari over abduction of Katsina students

The Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group has knocked President Muhammadu Buhari’s competence following the abduction of school students in Katsina State.

600 students were immediately unaccounted for after the gunmen attacked Government Science Secondary School, Kankara on Friday, December 11, 2020.

Four days after the attack, at least 333 students remain unaccounted for, as the government has commenced negotiations with the kidnappers according to Katsina governor, Aminu Bello Masari.

Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, has claimed responsibility for the attack, a repeat of the abductions of schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno in 2014, and Dapchi, Yobe in 2018.

In a statement released on Tuesday, December 15, BBOG said the Buhari-led government has operated with a lack of urgency that is disturbing and could endanger the lives of the students.

“Seemingly, the federal government under the leadership of President Buhari has learned nothing and committed to learning nothing that will prevent a repeat or mitigate the proper handling of any abduction,” the group said.

BBOG, created to campaign for the return of Chibok schoolgirls six years ago, criticised Buhari for failing to visit the grieving parents in Kankara, especially as he’s currently on a private visit just hours away in Daura, his country home.

The group said the president’s indifference to the plight Nigerians is the trademark of the failed leadership of his administration.

Boko Haram’s activities have been largely restricted to the northeast region over the past 10 years, with criminal activities in the northwest attributed to standalone bandits.

The terrorists’ strike in Katsina confirms public theories that the criminality in the northwest is linked to Boko Haram which has killed over 30,000 people in the past decade.

BBOG said in its Tuesday statement that the expansion of the terrorists is due to the Buhari government’s failure to stop its reign of terror despite its many public claims of success.

The group issued a list of five demands to Buhari, including immediate rescue action, protection for protesting parents, and direct communication with them over the fate of their children.

BBOG also asked the president to implement the Safe School Initiatives that safeguards the rights of children to education, and prevents similar abductions from taking place.

The group also called on the president to immediately sack all his service chiefs and review the nation’s security infrastructure.