The recent abduction of over 300 schoolboys of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State by Boko-Haram terrorists has attracted the attention of a former Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala, who is the leading candidate for the high-profile job of director-general of the World Trade Organisation (AWO) charged the Federal Government to do everything possible to rescue the abducted boys and reunite them with their families.
Commenting on the incident on her verified Twitter handle, she insisted that those using the schoolboys as pawns must be held accountable.
She wrote, “The abduction of more than 300 schoolboys in Katsina is heartbreaking. What a recurring nightmare. My heart goes out to the families of the missing boys. The authorities must do all possible to #BringBackOurBoys! Those using our children as pawns must be held accountable!”
Bandits had stormed the school on Friday night and abducted the students after a gun duel with the police.
Analysts said the attack was an attempt to discredit President Muhammadu Buhari who had claimed in the past that the Boko Haram insurgency had been degraded. The president is presently holidaying in his village, Daura, a journey of 2 hours 23 minutes to Kankara.
The president’s seemingly indifference to the abduction has also drew the ire of Nigerians, who questioned the the decision of the president to visit his cattle ranch the next day after the abduction.
Boko Haram terrorist group, on Tuesday, claimed responsibility for the abduction, saying it had not entered into negotiations with the government contrary to claims by the authorities.
The terror group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, in a recording, also said the dastardly act was done in order to discourage people from obtaining western education.
