Residents of Borno State have criticised the federal government over what they described as its silence and lack of visible intervention following the abduction of 42 pupils from Mussa community in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of the state.
The residents argued that the federal government appeared more responsive to a similar kidnapping incident in Oyo State, where schoolchildren and teachers were abducted, than to cases recorded in the North-East.
Speaking on Monday, the Chairman of the Network of Civil Society Organisations in Borno State, Abubakar Suleiman, said the handling of both incidents suggested unequal attention to victims.
He said, “The federal government visited Oyo State with a high-powered delegation, including the National Security Adviser, Minister of Defence, Chief of Staff to the President, among others, with a helicopter that landed at the local government where the abduction took place.”
Suleiman added that similar attention was not extended to Borno incidents despite multiple attacks.
“In the case of Borno, around 416 people were kidnapped in Ngoshe on the 3rd of May. There has not been any federal government intervention. We also had another incident on the 16th of May; 42 students were kidnapped in Askira Uba. There was no federal government delegation,” he said.
He called for more decisive action, urging authorities to strengthen rescue efforts and communicate regularly with affected families.
“Our call is for the government to intensify the search, to come and interact with parents and assure them that their children will be reunited with them as soon as possible,” he said.
A political analyst in the state, Abubakar Kareto, also condemned the attacks and questioned what he described as an imbalance in government response.
He said, “Both abductions of the 42 pupils from Mussa community in Askira Uba, Borno State, and those in Oyo State are heartbreaking reminders that rural schools remain highly vulnerable.”
Kareto argued that while the Oyo incident attracted swift federal attention, the Borno case had not received comparable urgency.
“The Oyo State attack also occurred on the same day as that of Askira Uba. While the government launched a rapid, high-profile response to the Oyo incident… the Borno abduction has mostly received standard rhetorical condemnations,” he said.
He urged the federal government to deploy stronger security and intelligence resources to secure the release of the abducted children.
Meanwhile, the President of the Borno South Youths Alliance Forum, Samaila Kaigama, criticised both state and federal responses, calling for greater accountability.
“Governor Zulum, where are our 40-plus Askira Uba children?” he asked, adding that communities deserved stronger action beyond symbolic gestures.
Kaigama also faulted what he described as limited government engagement with affected families, insisting that “no life is better than another, and no zone in Nigeria is more important than another.”
The abduction of the 42 pupils reportedly occurred on May 16, when suspected Boko Haram insurgents attacked Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira/Uba LGA.
