- Mohammed also urged Nigerians not to frame the crisis as a regional issue
- He added that many of the attackers were retreating into deep forest areas
- The former minister urged the Federal Government to enhance intelligence cooperation
Former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, has raised serious concerns over the renewed wave of school kidnappings sweeping across northern Nigeria.
Eko Hot Blog reports that Gana warned that the disturbing pattern may be linked to a new strategy by armed groups who could be abducting children as “human shields” in anticipation of foreign military actions.
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Speaking in Abuja during a reception held in honour of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, following his emergence as chairman of the World Customs Organisation Council, Gana said the sudden rise in abductions should alarm every stakeholder.
He noted that the attacks appeared too coordinated to be random, suggesting the criminals were responding to global political tensions, particularly threats issued by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Gana revealed that shortly before arriving at the event, he received a call claiming that the bandits “are taking the threat from the president of the United States seriously” and might be “gathering human shields” to protect themselves.
He added that many of the attackers were retreating into deep forest areas, which he believes shows they fear potential aerial targeting and may be grabbing innocent citizens to shield themselves from airstrikes.
The former minister urged the Federal Government to enhance intelligence cooperation and deploy modern surveillance technology to disrupt the criminal networks. According to him, “Technology has reached a point where these people can be targeted from the air, and they need to be dealt with now.”
On the same occasion, Minister of Information Idris Mohammed disclosed that international media organisations had mounted pressure on Nigeria for updates on the mass abductions in Kebbi and Niger states.
He assured the gathering that while official figures were still being compiled, security agencies were already pursuing the rescue of the victims on President Bola Tinubu’s orders.
Mohammed also urged Nigerians not to frame the crisis as a regional issue, saying the government was confronting security challenges nationwide, even as economic indicators were gradually improving.
Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite, praised Adeniyi’s new global position, describing it as a major boost for Nigeria’s role in international customs reforms.
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