The United Nations Organisation has condemned the frequent kidnappings of schoolchildren and other soft targets under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, while calling for the prosecution of the criminals.
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, stated this while reacting to the abduction of some students from Bethel Baptist High School, Damishi, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Guterres’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, disclosed this while briefing correspondents on Tuesday at the UN headquarters in New York.
Gunmen abducted no fewer than 140 students on Monday from the boarding school.
The UN correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted Dujarric as saying that Guterres condemned the kidnapping of the students.
Dujarric said, “I can tell you that the Secretary-General strongly condemns the abduction of students from the Bethel Baptist School as well as hospital employees in two separate incidents in Kaduna State on July 5.
“The Secretary-General is disturbed by the frequency of ‘kidnapping for ransom’ of predominantly children from schools by extremist groups and criminal networks.”
According to Dujarric, Guterres underscores the need to bring perpetrators of the grave human rights violations to account and also enhance the safety and security of schools and educational facilities.
Meanwhile, the state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, in his characteristic manner, condoled with the families of the Nigerian Army and Navy personnel who paid the supreme price on Monday while defending students of Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna.
