Jim Risch, US senator from Idaho, says the Nigerian government has long failed to prevent schoolchildren from jihadist and criminal abductions.
In a post on X, the lawmaker who chairs the US senate
foreign relations committee, said students, particularly schoolgirls, remain at
heightened risk of “enslavement, conversion, and ransom”.
“Nigeria has long failed to protect its schoolchildren from
jihadist and criminal abductions, and little has changed,” he wrote.
“As the U.S. engages the Nigerian government on the persecution of its most vulnerable citizens, we will continue to hold them accountable.”
His comments come amid recent attacks and abductions in
Nigeria.
On Monday, gunmen attacked Government Girls Secondary
School, Maga, in Kebbi state, and kidnapped 25 female students.
Hassan Makuku, the school’s vice principal, lost his life
during the attack, while Ali Shehu, a security guard, sustained gunshot
injuries to his right hand.
Nafi’u Abubakar Kotarkoshi, spokesperson of the Kebbi police
command, said the assailants were “armed with sophisticated weapons”.
President Bola Tinubu said the kidnapping occurred despite
prior “intelligence warnings of a possible attack by bandits”.
Decrying the security breach that led to the abduction, the
president urged communities across Nigeria, especially those in areas facing
security challenges, to share timely information and intelligence with the
military, police, and the Department of State Services (DSS).
US President Donald Trump has threatened military action in Nigeria “if the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians”.
The Tinubu-led federal government has repeatedly pushed back
on US claims of targeted killing of Christians in Nigeria.
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