Twenty-four hours after the abduction of 140 students from their school in Kaduna State, parents have accused the government of lying about the number of students who have been rescued and aare consequently threatening to raze the school.

FIJ had reported on Monday that armed men invaded the Bethel Baptist High School, kidnapping the students while 25 escaped. The mass abduction in the state is the fourth since December 2020.

Although the Police and the Kaduna government claim to be in pursuit of the armed men, angry parents are threatening to burn down the school if the government does not say anything about their children.

“I was not happy. It made me wonder about the kind of country we are in,” Punch quoted Caroline Emmanuel, whose younger brother was kidnapped, as saying.

“I don’t know if we still have leaders in this country. How can bandits enter Kaduna State and operate for 24 hours despite the presence of security agencies everywhere in the state?

“Yesterday, they said they went to rescue 40 of the abductees. We are still waiting for them to tell us something about them. The government is selling propaganda, saying they rescued the children. They didn’t. Those children escaped themselves.”

She said that the government should show parents the 40 students it rescued and added that a state of emergency should be declared in the state, as bandits “attack us at home, in the farm and everywhere”.

“We are not secure,” she said. “Parents are saying that in the next two hours, if nothing is said about their children, this place will be burnt down.”