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Bandits fear air strikes, may be abducting children as human shields — Gana
Former Minister of Information, Jerry Gana, on Saturday has said that armed groups behind the latest wave of school kidnappings in the North may be seizing children as “human shields” following threats issued by United States President Donald Trump.
Gana spoke at a reception in Abuja held to celebrate the elevation of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, as chairman of the World Customs Organisation, and at a fundraising dinner for the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations’ national secretariat.
Gana, who had earlier paid tribute to Adeniyi’s WCO Council chairmanship, said that the sudden escalation in school abductions across the country may be linked to fears among bandits that they may soon be targeted by foreign powers.
He said, “It should become extremely worrying, especially for elders, statesmen, and fathers of the nation to see younger ones being abducted here and there
“Somebody phoned me just before I came here to say that it would appear that the bandits are taking the threat from the president of the United States seriously. Therefore, it would appear that they are now mobilising human shields to protect them.
“Therefore, those of you who are very close to security agencies here should tell them they (bandits) know that they are being targeted.”
He added that the geography of the attacks suggested the kidnappers were deliberately retreating into forest hideouts in anticipation of aerial strikes.
“They fear that they are going to be targeted from the air and therefore felt the need to grab a few people to be human shields,” he said.
Gana urged the Nigerian government to deepen cooperation with international partners, adding,
“I think the Nigerian government will need all the wisdom to liaise with whoever can help us. Technology has gone to a point where you can be targeted from the air. And I think these people need to be targeted now from the air.”
However, The PUNCH could not independently verify the authenticity of Gana’s claim.
At the same event, Minister of Information Idris Mohammed disclosed that foreign news organisations were pressing him for updates on the abductions in Kebbi and Niger states, an indication of the growing global spotlight on Nigeria’s worsening security situation.
“As I was sitting down there, I got about two text messages from some international press organisations asking me to confirm the number of people who have actually been kidnapped in Agwara,” Idris said.
He added that government efforts were underway to secure the release of abducted students, stressing President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to ending the crisis
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