Presidency Reacts To Zamfara Schoolgirls’ Abduction

President Muhammadu Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, released the statement on Friday, hours after Nigerians and prominent individuals had reacted.

Shehu said, “The President advised states and local governments to be more proactive by improving security around schools and their surroundings.”

“The President appealed to state governments “to review their policy of rewarding bandits with money and vehicles, warning that the policy might boomerang disastrously.”

“President Muhammadu Buhari has described the latest abduction of hundreds of students of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe in Zamfara State as inhumane and totally unacceptable, sending out a strong warning to bandits and their sponsors.”

“President Buhari noted that “a hostage crisis is a complex situation that requires maximum patience in order to protect the victims from physical harm or even brutal death at the hands of their captors.”

“He warned the bandits, saying, “Let them not entertain any illusions that they are more powerful than the government. They shouldn’t mistake our restraint for the humanitarian goals of protecting innocent lives as a weakness or a sign of fear or irresolution.”

TrackNews Online had earlier reported that the abduction of 317 schoolgirls in Government Secondary School, Jangebe in Zamfara State by bandits has been condemned by Northern Governors Forum.

The Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, in a statement released on Friday described the incident as “embarrassing and unacceptable.”