Opinion
School kidnapping happens even in developed countries – Lai Mohammed
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, says the kidnapping of schoolchildren does not only happen in Nigeria; that the crime happens in the United States and other developed countries.
Mr Mohammed said this on Monday when he appeared on Channels Television’s ‘News Night’ monitored by NewsWireNGR.
The Minister was speaking against the backdrop of the abduction of Government Science College in Kagara, Niger State and Kankara schoolboys. He added that the government was using kinetic and non-kinetic means to ensure the release of the abductees.
Mohammed said, “Even in the most developed countries of this world, school kidnapping takes place. Last year, in the US, we all witnessed three of four school kidnappings, and that is in probably one of the most developed countries in the world.
“The thing about terrorism is that the terrorists don’t live by your own rules and they are especially interested in soft targets. They know that what is going to get global attention is kidnapping school children.
“We must be careful; we can’t turn all our schools into barracks. What is important is intelligence gathering, surveillance rather than the physical presence of the soldiers or policemen.
“We are dealing with people who don’t think like me and you, we are dealing with people who don’t have any rules of engagement, we are dealing with people whose motivation is completely different from mine and yours. And anywhere in the world, this is how terrorists operate but the most important thing is to learn from what is happening and adapt.”
