Parents of abducted Borno children take protest to Abuja

Parents of the 78 schoolchildren abducted by insurgents in Borno State said they are taking their protest to Abuja after the Federal Government failed to respond to their six-day ultimatum to rescue their children.

The parents said they would storm the Presidential Villa to demand the intervention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and would remain in Abuja until they were granted an audience with the President.

The children have now spent more than 136 days in captivity after 42 school pupils were abducted in Mussa on May 15, while 36 students in Lassa were seized on June 29, 2026.

The six-day deadline issued by the parents to the Federal Government expired without any official communication on the whereabouts of the children or efforts being made to secure their release.

The Chairman of the Abducted Children’s Parents Association, Ishaku Suya, told Daily Trust that the families met on Monday to review the situation and finalise arrangements for the planned protest in Abuja.

“You know, we must plan it very well. We need to have enough resources to settle our families back home and cover the expenses we will incur in Abuja, because we are not coming back until the President talks to us,” he said.

The chairman said the parents were aware that President Tinubu was currently out of the country and might have a busy schedule upon his return, but insisted that this would not stop them from pursuing their demand.

He said the parents were prepared to remain at the Presidential Villa until they were given an opportunity to meet the President.

The chairman also expressed frustration over what he described as differences in the government’s response to abductions in different parts of the country.

“They know that our children are in the Damboa forest, but they refused to deploy tracking drones and top military brass to handle their rescue operation as they did in Oyo.

“The other option is to negotiate with our children’s abductors, but nothing has been done to secure their release, as if we are foreigners and not Nigerians,” he said.

The Borno children were kidnapped on the same day terrorists abducted more than 40 students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State on May 15, 2026. The Oyo victims were later released after spending 56 days in captivity.

The chairman said the last contact the families had with a government official was during a meeting with Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, who had assured them that efforts would be made to secure the children’s safe release.

He said there had been no further communication with the families since then, leaving them uncertain about the condition and whereabouts of their children.

The planned Abuja protest, he said, was now the parents’ way of drawing the attention of the Federal Government and the wider public to their plight.

He appealed to residents of Borno State and Nigerians across the country, particularly journalists, to support the families by amplifying their demand for the safe return of the children.

“Our children are everyone’s children. I want you to feel the excruciating pain we are enduring,” the chairman pleaded.

The parents said they were determined to remain in Abuja until they received a clear response from the Federal Government on concrete steps being taken to secure the release of their children.