By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has hailed the rescue of pupils, teachers and other victims abducted from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State after 56 days in captivity.
The party has tasked the Federal Government to give equal importance to securing the release of schoolchildren and other victims still being held by kidnappers in Borno and Kaiama, Kwara State.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said every successful rescue should be celebrated, stressing however that the real task lies in preventing the kidnappings in the first place.
The statement by Abdullahi reads, “The African Democratic Congress (ADC) hails the safe return of the pupils, teachers and other victims abducted from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State after 56 harrowing days in captivity.
“We commend the security agencies and all those whose efforts made this rescue possible. Most importantly, we rejoice with the families whose long traumatic wait for the safe return of the victims has finally come to an end.
“However, even as we celebrate this positive development, we must not forget that many other families have lived through the same nightmare for much longer but appear not to receive the same level of attention.
“The pupils abducted in Borno State in May this year remain in captivity, while more than 100 people kidnapped in Kaiama, Kwara State are still in the den of kidnappers several months after. “We believe that the suffering of these victims deserves the same urgency, determination as well as the national and international attention that brought the Oriire victims home.
“Every successful rescue is worth celebrating. But every kidnapping is also a reminder that the primary duty of government is to ensure that citizens are not abducted in the first place.
“What we must not do is to get accustomed to measuring success by the number of rescue operations this government conducts.
“The true measure of success is whether parents across Nigeria can send their children to school without fear, whether travellers can use our roads without anxiety, and whether ordinary Nigerians can live their daily lives free from the constant threat of violent criminals.
“Under the Tinubu government, for too many Nigerians, insecurity has become an accepted part of everyday life. This is unacceptable. “We cannot achieve meaningful economic growth, attract investment or build public confidence while kidnapping remains a recurring feature of national life”, it said.
The ADC therefore called on the Federal Government to sustain the momentum that led to the rescue of the Oriire victims and deploy the same resolve, intelligence and operational capacity towards securing the freedom of every Nigerian still being held by criminal elements.
According to the opposition party, “Every life matters equally. No victim should be forgotten because they are voiceless or lack vocal champions to keep their story on the headlines and national focus.
“We also urge the government to move beyond reactive security measures and implement a comprehensive security strategy that addresses the root causes of insecurity, strengthens intelligence gathering, improves inter-agency coordination, and restores effective state presence to protect vulnerable communities across the country.
“Today, we celebrate with the families in Oriire. But our celebration will not be complete until every abducted Nigerian returns home safely”, the ADC’s statement concluded.
