PRESS RELEASE:
RETURN OF KANKARA BOYS ADDS FEATHER TO PMB’S HAT – MURIC
The 344 boys who were kidnapped from Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State on Friday, 11th December, 2020, returned yesterday, Friday, 18th December, 2020, exactly one week after their abduction. Meanwhile the Nigerian Islamic human rights organization, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has given kudos to President Muhammadu Buhari for the successful rescue of the Kankara school boys.
MURIC gave the commendation in a press statement circulated to pressmen on Saturday, 19th December, 2020. The statement was signed by the group’s director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
According to the statement, “We received news of the return of the kidnapped Kankasa boys with immense joy. The successful rescue operation adds another feather to President Muhammadu Buhari’s hat. We note with every seriousness that the early return of the boys was made possible by Mr. President’s prompt action.
“PMB had issued orders to the security agencies for a joint rescue operation immediately after the criminal abduction occurred. The security agencies also deserve commendation for swinging into action and mapping out a successful rescue plan. The fact that the pursuit began very early made it possible for the army to locate the position of the kidnapped boys and their abductors. It also enabled the army to surround the area. The hoodlums had no option than to surrender after a few days having realized the hopelessness of their ill-fated attack.
“We are constrained to compare PMB’s prompt action in the Kankara boys’ affair to the costly procrastination exhibited by ex-President Jonathan after 276 Chibok girls were abducted on 14th April, 2014. The former president was cynical and undecided. He continued to dilly-dally for about 21 days after the abduction while the army waited for his order. Jonathan set up a fact-finding committee nearly a month after the tragedy. This allowed the Boko Haram abductors to dig in. An eye witness saw 15 trucks painted in army colours loaded with girls on 25th April, 2014 (almost two weeks later) at Gwarzo, close to the Cameroonian border and far away from Chibok.
“MURIC calls on Nigerians to exercise patience and to show understanding on the security challenge facing the country, particularly insurgency and kidnapping. There is need to realize that it is easier for the army to face a known enemy than a faceless foe. Boko Haram is into guerilla warfare and that is the most difficult insurgency to stamp out. Their target is to rubbish government’s efforts and cause the latter as much embarrassment as possible. No nation has been known to successfully and single-handedly eliminate guerilla fighters without engaging them in negotiations.
“Unfortunately too, nobody seems to see the significance of the ability of the Nigerian Army to restrict the activities of the insurgents to the North East and to stop its bombing campaigns, including suicide bombing. We therefore urge Nigerians to put on their thinking caps once again in retrospect. For the avoidance of doubts, we are not saying the security situation is good. It is not. What we are saying is that we should show understanding.
“We were all alive three or four years ago when the PMB administration was faced by a fiercely antagonistic National Assembly which rejected the release of a huge sum of money meant for boosting security. Foreign partners who promised to sell vital weapons to Nigeria three years ago are still withholding them. We affirm that it is easy to criticize, condemn and dance to the gallery, but it raises one above the crowd to be able to look beyond the broken gate into the garden full of beautiful flowers”.
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
