By Paul Joseph
Parents of schoolchildren abducted in Borno State have taken to the streets to demand urgent government action to secure the release of their children, who have spent nearly 100 days in captivity.
The protest was held in Uba town on Thursday, as anxious families continued to press the Federal Government to intensify efforts to rescue the children.
The students were abducted from their classrooms on May 15 in Mussa, a community located on the fringes of the Sambisa Forest, an area long associated with Islamist militant activity.
The prolonged captivity has deepened concerns among residents and families, particularly amid continuing security challenges in northeastern Nigeria involving Boko Haram and its Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) offshoot.
Speaking during the protest, one of the parents, Chinda Buba, said families had been left in distress because they had no information about the whereabouts or condition of their children.
“We still have not seen them. We do not know where our children are. We don’t know whether they are healthy or going through difficult conditions,” Buba said.
Peace Nicolos, whose two children, aged three and eight, are among those missing, said families were living in constant anxiety and struggling to cope with the situation.
“We worry every day and struggle to eat,” she said, appealing to the government to rescue the children.
Orbet Lawan Yakubu, who represented the traditional ruler of Mussa, said about 45 children were still unaccounted for.
He described the abduction as devastating for the community, saying the disappearance of the children had affected almost every family connected to the incident.
The Mussa abduction was followed by another attack in nearby Lassa on June 29, where 36 students and a teacher were also reportedly taken captive.
The latest protest has renewed calls for stronger security measures around schools and faster rescue operations to prevent abducted students from spending prolonged periods in captivity.
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