The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has challenged President Bola Tinubu to apply the same strategy he used in rescuing the kidnapped Oriire schoolchildren and their teachers to rescue other kidnap victims.
New Telegraph had earlier reported that President Tinubu on Thursday told traditional rulers from Oyo State, led by the Olubadan of Ibadanland, at the presidential villa, Abuja, that his administration rejected negotiations with the kidnappers, and instead relied on security operations that eventually secured the victims’ freedom.
However, the ADC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, wondered why the president had not applied the same strategy to rescue Kwara and Borno Kidnap victims, if indeed his administration has the intelligence network and the operational capacity.
“There are still communities in Borno that are still waiting for their loved ones to return.
“Across Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, Benue and other parts of the country, countless families continue to wait for the phone call that never comes, the rescue that never arrives, or simply some assurance that their government has not moved on.
“Those families ask for no special treatment. They ask only for equal humanity and equal citizenship,” the party said.
ADC said the Oriire rescue should not stand as an exceptional story that government recounts with pride, but should be the standard by which every response to kidnapping is measured.
“This is the only way to settle an argument that should no longer be necessary, which is whether President Tinubu considers some kidnapping victims more important than others,” the party added.
According to the ADC, real measure of a government should not be whether it succeeds on a particular incident, but whether it has put in place measures and developed the capacity to ensure that Nigerians are no longer easy targets for kidnappers, “and when it does happen, Nigerians, regardless of where they live, can expect the government will get them out regardless of what part of the country they reside.”
The party therefore called on President Tinubu to ensure that the same intelligence, surveillance and operational determination deployed in Oriire are immediately deployed in Kwara, Borno and every other state where Nigerians remain in captivity.
“No family should have to wonder whether the urgency of government depends on where tragedy happens,” ADC added.
