Following the release of the pupils abducted by bandits in Kaduna State, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has called on the Federal Government to facilitate the release of all victims of kidnapping in the country.
While commending the efforts of the government in ensuring the freedom of the Kuriga school children, the Northern socio-cultural group pointed out that the victims of banditry still in captivity in any part of Nigeria should regain their freedom through the immediate intervention of the Federal Government.
National Publicity Secretary of ACF, Prof Tukur Muhammed-Baba, stated, yesterday: “It is with warm hearts full of relief and gratitude that ACF received news about the release of the Kuriga students, Tsangaya pupils and some of the long-held students of Federal University Gusau (FUGUS). Details of the process that led to the release of the students are unavailable, understandably, for security reasons.”
“Without prejudice, however, for ACF, the development hopefully signals a new dawn in anti-terrorism measures being applied by the government.”
Going forward, ACF called for strengthening of the new anti-terrorism multi-stakeholder, multi-pronged strategy, involving those with direct and indirect responsibilities for securing peoples and communities.
The Arewa leader stressed: “Efforts should be intensified to have all remaining captives everywhere and anywhere released. For Kuriga, this is vital, because the number of victims released is at variance with earlier figures of abductees as indeed reflected in various news reports.
“The adoption of simple but effective community-based measures, including simple or user-friendly gadgets, incorporating solid intelligence gathering and processing, for early warning, early response strategy to secure all vulnerable communities and facilities.”
ACF also called on the government to ensure psychological counselling for the released victims, “so that mental effect of the trauma is minimised and they return to normalcy soonest.”
The group reiterated its earlier call on the parents and students not to be discouraged, as the terror merchants must not be allowed any semblance of victory, pyrrhic as it will be.
It then called for the immediate rehabilitation of schools to make the learning environment conducive, noting: “Video clips of decrepit buildings and facilities at the Kuriga school as beamed on international media is bad statement for public policy.”
