As govt looks away, parents beg for lives of abducted Greenfield University students

As the ultimatum issued by the abductors of students of Greenfield University, Kaduna reaches, the National Association of Parents/Teachers Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) is begging the kidnappers not to execute any of the students.
The abductors have asked for N100 million and 10 motorcycles as ransom before the students, kidnapped over three weeks ago, will be released.
Sources said the abductors warned that failure of the Kaduna State Government or the students’ families to meet their demands by Tuesday, May 4, would lead to the killing of the students in their custody.
The state governor Nasir El-Rufai has however remained adamant that his government would not negotiate with the criminals under any guise. Federal security apparatuses have also failed to secure the release of the hapless students despite marked presence of military bases in Kaduna State.
The NAPTAN National President, Haruna Danjuma, has called on the abductors to “please and please” not to execute or hurt any other students that is in their captivity, and begged them to extend the deadline and time of their execution in other for the parents to meet their demand.
Mr Danjuma said in Kaduna on Tuesday that there is the need to beg the bandits in view of the situation some of the students find themselves in since the day they were kidnapped and kept in the forest.
Saying that there is high tension and fear among all the families, relatives and other concerned citizens in the state since the moment they threatened to kill all the remaining students on a radio station.
He says “begging them became mandatory because we want all our university students back home alive.”
“We were shocked and not happy with that statement on the radio that all our remaining greenfield students would be killed if N100 million and 10 Honda motorcycles are not given to them on Tuesday.
“We are simply begging them not to kill any other students in view of the fact that they are innocent.
“The deadline is really worrisome and we as parents are all concerned and worried over the lives of our students and teachers of the greenfield university.”
According to him, there is also the need for the abductors to extend the date-line they gave, in order to enable some of the parents to meet-up with their demands.
Mr Danjuma said it is really unfortunate that bandits have now come up with new ways of extorting money from families and schools of students through evacuating large numbers of students to get plenty of money.
He said the government should provide adequate security in order to protect all Nigerian schools so as to avert further attacks on schools.
Pointing out that since the kidnapping of the Chibok girls, Dapchi, Zamfara, Niger and Kaduna, many teachers and students are now panicking, Mr Danjuma said governments should quickly bring an end to kidnapping of school students and teachers.
He called on communities to always support the protection of schools, teachers and students, and urged volunteer vigilantes, civilian JTF, Civil defends and the peace corp to assist in protecting schools environment.
Also responding, the National President, Foundation for the Protection of Women and Children, Ramatu Tijjani, also appealed to the abductors for the sake of this holy month of Ramadan not to kill any students.
Ms Tijjani said, “we are begging you to please don’t hurt any students, and to please release them for the sake of the holy month.
She equally begged all the bandits across the northern part of the country to release all people in their captivity.
Ms Tijjani called on religious leaders to keep on praying for peace and unity of the country and for God’s intervention against insecurity bedeviling the country.
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