Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said that kidnapping of students does not only happen in Nigeria, stating that the most developed countries of the world including the United States of America, also experience school kidnapping.
Recall that some students and staff of Government Science College in Kagara, were kidnapped when bandits stormed the school last Wednesday. A student was also reportedly killed by the hoodlums during the attack.
Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello, had ordered the immediate closure of all boarding schools in the bandit-ravaged areas.
The Senate had also asked President Muhammadu Buhari, to declare a state of emergency on security without further delay.
On Monday, while featuring on Channels Television’s ‘News Night’ the Information Minister told Nigerians that kidnapping of school children are not peculiar to Nigeria.
He maintained that the government would not pay ransom to secure the release of the abducted students and members of staff of Government Science College in Kagara, Niger State.
Stating that the government was using kinetic and non-kinetic means to ensure the release of those abducted.
He reiterated: “Even in the most developed countries of this world, school kidnapping takes place. Last year, in the US, we all witnessed three of four school kidnappings, and that is probably one of the most developed countries in the world.
“The thing about terrorism is that the terrorists don’t live by your own rules and they are especially interested in soft targets. They know that what is going to get global attention is kidnapping school children.
“We must be careful; we can’t turn all our schools into barracks. What is important is intelligence gathering, surveillance rather than the physical presence of the soldiers or policemen.
“We are dealing with people who don’t think like me and you, we are dealing with people who don’t have any rules of engagement, we are dealing with people whose motivation is completely different from mine and yours. And anywhere in the world, this is how terrorists operate but the most important thing is to learn from what is happening and adapt.”