The abduction of 317 schoolgirls in Government Secondary School, Jangebe in Zamfara State by bandits has been condemned by Northern Governors Forum.
The Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, in a statement released on Friday described the incident as “embarrassing and unacceptable.”
Lalong in his statement said strong measures must be put in place to end the abduction of children in schools.
He noted that the development which is coming on the heels of the abduction of school children in Kagara, Niger State, which is still being addressed, calls for serious concerns among all Nigerians.
He said, “As Northern Governors, we are deeply saddened by this embarrassing and unfortunate attack on our children who are in schools to seek knowledge and build capacity to impact the nation and create a better society. The assault on schools where innocent and harmless students are targeted should not be condoned in any way because it has the tendency to set the nation back to ignorance and more poverty. The Northern part of the country in particular is more educationally disadvantaged and cannot afford to have these disruptions. Enough is enough”.
The forum appealed to security agencies to use all possible means to rescue the abducted students and bring to justice those behind the act.
The Northern Governors also called on Nigerians to work with security agencies and government with credible information that will lead to a swift resolution of the situation.
Lalong sympathised with the families of the abducted school children, the people and the Government of Zamfara State, assuring them of the support of the Forum in tackling the problem.
