Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Human Rights Writers Association Of Nigeria (HURIWA) call have asked Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, to resign his position as governor due to escalation of insecurity in the state.
Their calls were apparently because the government has failed in his responsibility as the chief security officer of the state and his refusal to negotiate with kidnappers.
Yesterday, 26 students were kidnapped by armed bandits at Bethel Baptist School, Maraban Rido, Chikun Local Council of Kaduna State.
Confirming the incident yesterday, the Kaduna police command said that security operatives were on the trail of the bandits.
Chairman of CAN, Kaduna chapter, Rev. Joseph Hayab, who is a Baptist senior pastor, explained that students in the hostel’s register before the kidnap were 180, adding: “They counted the students this (Monday) morning and they said 174 could not be accounted for.”
He urged the governor to resign if he could not handle the security of the state. But El-Rufai has described the incident as unfortunate and evil to humanity.
The Commissioner for Internal Security and Home, Samuel Aruwan, said: “The governor is following the development and receiving hourly situation reports.”
Blaming El-Rufai and President Muhammadu Buhari for the kidnap of students in Kaduna and other northern states, HURIWA lamented the lack of effective and transparent military action to end the menace.
In a statement yesterday, the National Coordinator of HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko, alleged that the kidnappers were being pampered by the Federal Government while slamming El-Rufai for playing to the gallery by enrolling his son to a public school but secretly withdrawing him later.
“If El-Rufai has any shame left in him, he should resign (as governor) forthwith for secretly withdrawing these children and trying to speak from both sides of his mouth by claiming that kidnappers were gunning for them. Then 24 hours later, these terrorists abducted several children of the poor,” HURIWA stated.
However, an attempt, yesterday, to kidnap students of Living Faith Academy, also in Kaduna, was foiled by security forces, who responded to a distress call by the school management. Consequently, the school called on parents to remove their children from the school premises.
The armed bandits had broken the perimeter fence of the academy, only to discover that students were not in session.
Security report got to the school management last Friday that parents should pick all the children from the hostel, latest Saturday.
Military personnel were on hand to confront the bandits after the news of the kidnapping of students of Bethel Baptist.
