From Segun Amure, (The New Diplomat’s Abuja Bureau)
The parents and students of the 39 abducted students of Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State in captivity on Monday stormed the college premises to demand for the release of the students.
They issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Kaduna state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai and the Federal Government to facilitate the return of the abductees.
During the protest, the parents and students blocked the Mando -Kaduna airport road leading to the school, demanding the immediate release of the students from the custody of their abductors.
The aggrieved parents were seen with placards with various inscriptions, singing and crying for help.
The concerned parents lamented why it is taking security agencies too long to rescue the kidnapped students unlike in the previous kidnap incidents in Katsina, Zamfara, and Niger States where the students were released in good time.
Kambai Sam who spoke on behalf of the aggrieved parents said the government has not done enough to rescue their children.
His statement reads, “We have put our trust in the government and the school authority to rescue the students in good time and safety but that has not happened.
“We as parents have not received any positive message from either the school management or the Minister for Environment under whose ministry the school is or the Kaduna State government under whose territorial jurisdiction the school is located.
“This silence is unacceptable as it only feeds our hopelessness with each passing day,” Sam said.
Also speaking, one of the parents of the victims, Lynda Abu, was in tears as she displayed a placard saying, “Bring Back Our Children.”
She said her late husband paid the ultimate sacrifice through his service in the country’s Armed Forces and wondered why her daughter was not safe in the same country.
The Kaduna State Government and Security agencies were yet to respond to the ultimatum given by the parents.
