PTAN demands immediate rescue of four kidnapped Benue female students

PARENTS have expressed worry over the recent abduction of four female students of Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University (formerly Federal University of Agriculture), Makurdi, Benue State, by the gunmen. 

The national president of the Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria (PTAN), Danuma Haruna, condemned the act, demanding the immediate rescue of the students from their abductors.

The four female students were forcefully whisked away by their attackers while going to class—the development that sparked student protests and later led to the closure of the university.

The PTAN boss, in an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, described the abduction as “another tragic reminder of the growing threats to the safety of students and workers in the country.”

According to him, it is completely unacceptable that universities that are meant to be centres of learning, innovation, and national development are increasingly becoming soft targets for criminal elements that prey on innocent students for ransom.

Danjuma, therefore, called on the government and security agencies to put more effort into rescuing the kidnapped students without further delay.

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While equally drawing the attention of both the federal and state governments to secure all the educational institutions from primary to tertiary level across the nation against the attacks by the criminal elements, Danjuma also appealed to other stakeholders, including security experts, to always support the government in a way to effectively tackle insecurity in and around schools in the country.

He expressed worry over the harmful effects of banditry and kidnapping for ransom that are now affecting educational institutions, especially in the northern part of the country, on education development and the nation’s building.

He, however, reminded President Bola Tinubu as well as security chiefs to also rejig their tactics and to effect the safe release of every other student, such as that of Chibok schoolgirls and Leah Saribu, among others who are still in the hands of bandits and terrorists to date, to enable them to reunite with their families.

He said education is important to national development and should therefore be given top priority for its effectiveness.