BORNO parents whose 78 schoolchildren were abducted 142 days ago have accused the government of “dribbling” them over the rescue of their children.
News Point Nigeria reports that the parents said they were tired of endless assurances without results, warning that the abductions had created fear in the minds of parents about enrolling their children in schools.
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Our correspondent recalls that the 78 schoolchildren were abducted in separate attacks, with 42 taken from Musa Primary and Junior Secondary School on May 15, while 36 students of Government Secondary School, Lassa, were abducted on June 29 in Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, all in 2026.
Speaking on the development, Musa Chinda Buba, whose daughter is among the 42 abducted Musa pupils, lamented that it had been 142 days of anguish, sleepless nights and trauma since their children were taken from their school.
“Every time we meet government officials, they tell us to be patient, that efforts are ongoing. But 142 days after, we have not seen our children. They are just dribbling us,” he said.
Buba said many parents, particularly mothers, had fallen sick due to depression and anxiety over the fate of their children.
He added that many pregnant women had suffered miscarriages due to the trauma of having their children missing, while the men, because of the trauma, could no longer go to the farm.
“We are appealing to Governor Babagana Zulum and President Tinubu to have mercy on us and bring back our children. These children went to seek knowledge, they should not be left to suffer in the hands of abductors,” he added.
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He urged the Borno State Government to provide clear information on the rescue efforts and not keep the parents in the dark.
Buba said teachers had been going from house to house appealing to parents to bring their children back to school, but noted that the abducted children had been particularly vulnerable because some of them, ranging from two to four years old, could not run when the terrorists stormed their school.
He added that the terrorists packed the children onto their motorcycles and fled with them, saying that his son in the nursery section clocked two years last month while still in captivity.
Similarly, Ibrahim Malum Bura, whose daughter, Esther Malum Bura, an SS2 student, was among the Lassa abducted schoolchildren, regretted that the government had yet to brief them on the whereabouts of their abducted children.
He said they were planning to take their protest to the Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, to know the government’s plans towards securing the rescue of their children.
“We the parents of the abducted students from Lassa are planning to take protest to the State government for the rescue of our children.
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“We are in pains and trauma. I don’t know how to describe our situation. Everyone is looking up to when these children will be rescued. It is about four months now that they have remained in captivity,” Bura said.
He added that his brother, Ijei Wampana, also has two children who are students of Lassa Government Secondary School, saying they are aged 16 and 18 and are in SS1 and SS2 respectively.
