The Yoruba Union, Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá, has welcomed the rescue of the abducted Oriire schoolchildren and their teachers, while calling on President Bola Tinubu to ensure the immediate rescue of 176 children and women abducted from Woro in the Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, as well as the 40 Mussa schoolchildren kidnapped in Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.
The group said the rescue of the Oriire victims should not mark the end of the government’s efforts, insisting that every Nigerian held in captivity deserves equal attention regardless of ethnicity, religion or location.
In a statement issued on Friday and signed by its Convener, Olusola Badero, the organisation commended the Nigerian security agencies, local vigilantes and the Federal Government for securing the release of the Oriire schoolchildren and their teachers alive.
The union, however, stressed that Nigerians would only be convinced that President Tinubu’s administration is making meaningful progress in tackling insecurity if all abducted victims across the country are rescued.
According to the statement, the continued captivity of the 176 children and women abducted from Woro in the Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State and the 40 Mussa schoolchildren kidnapped in the Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State remains a painful reminder of the country’s security challenges.
The group stated that since February, when over 200 people were reportedly slaughtered by Boko Haram in Kwara State and 176 children and women were abducted, both the Kwara State government and the Federal Government had remained largely silent and unconcerned.
It claimed that the situation had not received the level of national attention it deserved because, according to the group, “the people of Kwara are docile.”
The organisation also noted that Saturday marked 57 days since the 40 Mussa schoolchildren were abducted in Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, lamenting that the children remain in the custody of terrorists.
The statement read, “We welcome the release of our children and their teachers and commend all efforts by the security agencies, the local vigilantes and the Nigerian government for bringing all the victims home alive.
“Our prayers go to the Mathematics teacher who lost his life during the abduction by the terrorists. We also extend our condolences to the security operatives who paid the supreme price in the course of rescuing the children.
“However, Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá urges the Nigerian security agencies to intensify efforts to rescue other victims across the country.
“We are not a tribalistic organisation. Our concerns cut across all ethnic groups. Children are the apple of every parent’s eye, and no parent prays to know the tragic end of their children. We all pray for them to succeed us. They should not be subjected to trauma and mental health challenges at their age simply because the government has failed to secure the lives and property of the citizens it swore to protect.
“This is not the time to use the lives of innocent people to play politics. Rather, it is the time to call on the Nigerian government to intensify its efforts and adequately equip our security operatives to combat terrorists in their strongholds.
“The 176 Woro children and women, alongside the 40 Mussa schoolchildren, should be rescued just as the Oriire schoolchildren were rescued. Only then will Nigerians truly know that President Bola Tinubu is working seriously to improve security across the country.”
The group maintained that every kidnapped Nigerian deserves equal protection under the law and urged the Federal Government to demonstrate the same level of urgency deployed in the rescue of the Oriire victims by ensuring the safe return of all persons still being held by terrorists and other criminal groups across Nigeria.
