By Owei Lakemfa
THE story of 14-year-old Habiba, a student of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, Zamfara State, is heart-wrenching. Bandits raided her home three months ago, killing her uncle and abducting her father and elder sister.
Then on February 26, 2021 bandits invaded her school, abducted her and 316 other girls aged between 12 and 17 years. When they got to the kidnappers camp, she met her father and sister who had been unable to raise the ransom demanded by the kidnappers.
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Habiba, from Ankah Local Government Area, said her father warned her not to let the bandits know their relationship as they might kill him. She told the Daily Trust Newspapers: “They inflicted injury on him by cutting him with machete and beatings. Whenever I saw them beating him, I would cry. It was really disturbing. They said they would kill them if ransom is not paid.” She was released with her colleagues after four days. Imagine the trauma of a mere 14-year-old.
What is more annoying is that the Nigerian state which could not protect the children against bandits, further endangered the lives of the children, their parents and guardians by pointedly shooting at them after their release. Parents were said to have been worried that the handover ceremony of the girls was getting too prolonged and they needed to get back to their homes before it got dark as the roads are unsafe. At a point they began to throw stones at government officials and the armed forces responded by shooting live ammunition at them resulting in casualties.
Meanwhile, the same Zamfara State continued to witness more kidnapping with a fresh batch of 60 women and children kidnapped in a single bandit operation. At the weekend, the bandits extended their theatre of operation by attacking the Kaduna International Airport and abducting nine.
Despite the grave security situation in the country which calls for unity of purpose and action, the political elite are busy at diversions and bickering….
Read the full article at www.vanguardngr.com
