Fourteen Kidnapped Students Of FGC Birnin Yauri Still In Captivity After 210 Days

Fourteen students and their teachers taken from the Federal Government College in Birnin Yauri, Kebbi State, on June 17, 2021, have still to be released by their kidnappers.

Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, revealed the youngsters’ prolonged detention during his keynote address at the national campaign on out-of-school children in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, on Thursday.

Ben Bem Goong, the Ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, said as much in a statement.

Bringing every child on board the educational ship, according to Nwajiuba, is a national goal that all stakeholders must take seriously.

He urged everyone to stay on deck in preparation for the discharge of the remaining 14 pupils.

He did say, though, that the federal government was committed to releasing all of the youngsters held captive by terrorists.

Remember that gunmen had kidnapped approximately 100 children and eight teachers from the school at the time.
During the abduction, some of the students managed to flee the gunman, while others were rescued by security personnel.

The bandits also freed 30 of the pupils on October 21, 2021.

Nwajiuba said, “My heart and soul are with all Nigerian children who are still in captivity. I stand with the parents in the circumstance. The government will continue to do all it can to free our children who are being held for what they know nothing about.”

He said no nation could make meaningful progress with a high number of its youth as illiterates.

According to the minister, the high number of out-of-school children was inimical to the growth and development of any nation.

Nwajiuba maintained that the Federal Ministry of Education was determined to ensure that all children of school age, who are out of school, are returned and retained to complete their basic and secondary education and possibly transit to tertiary institutions.

The minister called for synergy amongst stakeholders especially communities where such children exist to ensure that they are given the necessary support to achieve education, adding that this is the only way the country can achieve a better, reliable, developed and peaceful society.

The minister also called on state governments to upscale efforts in supporting the Federal Government in the task of educating children, adding that education was a collective responsibility.