A father reportedly died of a heart attack after his three children were kidnapped from St Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the Northern Region and the FCT, Rev. John Hayab, has revealed.
Speaking to ARISE News on Tuesday, Hayab described the anguish families are enduring in the wake of recent school abductions in Niger, Kebbi, and Kwara states. He identified the grieving parent only as Mr Anthony.
“People want to see concrete action. Imagine a mother or a father whose daughter… one of the parents (Mr Anthony) of these girls picked in the school, died yesterday of a heart attack because three of his children are victims,” Hayab said.
Hayab emphasized the trauma on families, noting, “These children have not slept, they have not bathed, and their parents cannot even explain where they are. The pains and the trauma are still very fresh.”
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Reports indicate that 50 senior students fled into the bush during the attack and returned safely, but over 265 pupils, mostly aged nine to 14, remain unaccounted for.
Welcoming the release of 24 schoolgirls from Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, Hayab said, “Everybody is worried, everybody is angry, everybody needs a stop. It has been a traumatic week for parents, for leaders, and for our security men.”
He also criticized the misallocation of security resources, saying, “A large chunk of those who are supposed to secure Nigerians are securing VIPs… When proper deployment is done, we will be able to get rid of these things.” Following this, President Bola Tinubu ordered police officers attached to VIP duties to return to their bases nationwide.