‘El-Rufai has never spoken to us’ – parents of abducted students want to negotiate with abductors

Parents of the 39 students abducted from the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Kaduna have restated their readiness to negotiate with the abductors.

The students were abducted on Thursday, March 11, 2021, when bandits in their large numbers invaded their school located opposite the Nigerian Defence Academy along the Kaduna International Airport road.

Addressing reporters on Monday, Chairman and Secretary of the kidnapped student’s parents, Sam Kambai and Comrade Sanni Friday, vowed they will collectively negotiate with the bandits to secure release of their children.

They said in a statement that this was necessary between of the disconcern, the state governor, Nasir El-Rufai has shown since the students were abducted.

They claim the governor was yet to address the parent of the abducted students since they have been abducted 25 days ago.

The troubled parents said: “Today makes it 25 dreary and excruciatingly difficult days since our children have been in captivity.

“We have not received any words of empathy or assurance from Government nor have we seen any action to inspire confidence that something is being done to secure the safe release of our children.

“For the record, the Governor of Kaduna State has never addressed the parents of these students from the first day of the incident until now. They have shown no concern about the trauma the parents have been enduring.

“We wish to reiterate that we will do everything within our power, everything humanly possible, with the help of God, to ensure that our children do not perish.

“For government to not do everything to secure the release of the students 25 days after their abduction, and for government to keep the parents in the dark as to what it is doing, if any at all, smacks of gross insensitivity.”

Meanwhile, the state government on Sunday said that it never appointed any group or individual to negotiate on its behalf with bandits over the abduction of the 39 students.

The state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, who stated this added that anyone caught negotiating with bandits, on government’s behalf, would be prosecuted.