United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called for immediate and unconditional release of 150 students abducted from the Salihu Tanko Islamiya School in Tegina, Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.
This was contained in a statement issued and signed by the Communication Specialist, UNICEF Kano field office Mr Samuel Kaalu. According to the statement, UNICEF expressed deep concern about the fate of the children, some of whom are as young as 3 years old.
“We are appalled that two weeks after 150 students were abducted from their school, they continue to be held by their abductors. Parents are grieving over their children’s ‘disappearance’; siblings are missing their brothers and sisters. These children must be immediately and unconditionally released and safely reunited with their families.”
“It is horrifying that schools and schoolchildren continue to be targets of attack – and in this particular incident, even children as young as 3 years old. We can only begin to imagine how frightened they are, and the impact this will have on their mental health and well-being,” the statement quoted UNICEF Officer in Charge Rushnan Murtaza.
The statement added that UNICEF has stressed that attacks on students and schools are not only reprehensible but a gross violation of the right of children to an education. It is a right that any society can ill-afford to violate. It also called on the Nigerian Government to take all measures to protect schools in the country, and implement the promises made in the financing of safe schools in Nigeria, so that children will not be fearful of going to school, and parents afraid of sending their children to school.
