President Bola Tinubu has condemned kidnapping and banditry as ungodly, urging Muslim clerics to organise special prayers for Nigeria and educate their followers.

“Please embark on special prayers; embark on proper education for our youths,” Mr Tinubu told a delegation of Jam’iyyatu Ansarudden at the State House, Abuja, on Tuesday. “Kidnapping and banditry are not the way of God. Shedding each other’s blood is bad.”

The president added, “There can be no development without peace. It is only in the area of peace that we can eliminate poverty. We must work for peace in order for our economy to grow better.”

Mr Tinubu said his government was committed to “building a lasting peace with a focus on the comprehensive education of our children.”

“We will get our teachers and their owners involved in an education process that will be relevant to the future of this country; It is important,” he added. 

Mr Tinubu’s call for special prayers and proper education of youth against kidnapping and banditry comes amid rising cases of kidnapping for ransom by bandits.

The killing of Najeebah, a girl kidnapped alongside her five sisters and father in Bwari, Abuja, has sparked widespread criticisms of Mr Tinubu’s government.

Amnesty International on Monday lamented the spate of widespread kidnap for ransom in Nigeria, saying kidnapping is now part of daily life and citizens are living on a knife edge.

Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party have both blamed increased kidnappings and insecurity in Nigeria on “worsening hunger and poverty” under Mr Tinubu’s watch.