Amid the growing spate of insecurity in Nigeria, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, says President Bola Tinubu is saddened by the recent killings and abductions of students in the country.
Speaking on a television programme on Friday, the minister said the President is not happy about the security crisis in the country, adding that President Tinubu, in his bid to address the issues, had rejigged the security forces.
He said, ‘It’s a very sad thing; the president is really saddened about it. That is why, even before this designation of President Trump that this nation is a nation of Particular Concern, even before the threats issued by President Trump, recall that the president has re-jigged the security forces’.
Lately, gunmen have been on a rampage in Nigeria in the northern part of the country, killing and abducting students.
In the early hours of Friday, terrorists invaded the Catholic-owned school in Niger State and whisked away an unspecified number of students.
This occurred less than a week after bandits abducted 26 students from Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State — an attack that also claimed the life of Vice Principal Hassan Makuku, who attempted to resist the gunmen.
The incident also follows the abduction of at least 30 worshippers during a deadly attack on the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in Eruku, Kwara State, where three people were killed.
Earlier in the week, bandits attacked a branch of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in the Eruku community of Kwara State, killing three worshippers and abducting the pastor.
Speaking on the incidents, the minister said, ‘These are really sad times for our country’, stressing that one doesn’t need to belong to any faith to condemn the atrocities.
‘The highest duty of any government is to ensure the protection of lives and duties. Whoever the person might be, it’s not good for our country. No one should be happy that anybody is losing their lives for no just reason.
‘The second thing is that it is important to note that the complexities and dynamics playing out in this country are not simple ones. We have situations where jihadist extremists are coming out of the northeastern part of the country’, Idris said.
Idris explained that the fight against insurgency and terrorism has lasted for sixteen years.
He disclosed that diplomatic channels have been opened between Nigeria and the United States to address the alleged Christian genocide and growing wave of insecurity in the country.
