Parents of the 42 children abducted from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State have expressed frustration over the continued lack of information about their whereabouts more than 50 days after the attack.
The distraught families appealed to the Federal Government and security agencies to intensify efforts to rescue the pupils and reunite them with their families.
Some of the parents, who spoke with Daily Trust on Thursday, said they had remained in anguish and uncertainty since the children were taken away.
They complained that neither government officials nor security agencies had provided them with concrete information on the search-and-rescue operation.
One of the parents, Saleh Buba, whose two children are among the abducted pupils, said the prolonged silence from the authorities had worsened the families’ pain.
“We still have no information about our children, and nobody has come to brief us on what the government is doing,” Buba said.
He said the parents had been left to rely on rumours and unverified reports while waiting for official information on the fate of their children.
Another parent said the only information available to the families was speculation that government officials might have established contact with the abductors.
According to the parent, no official had visited the affected community to confirm the reports or explain the steps being taken to secure the children’s release.
The parent said, “Nobody has come to update us on the children or tell us where they are. All we see in the news is the Federal Government’s concern about the abducted Oyo teachers and schoolchildren.
“Both the state and federal governments have remained silent over our own children. We don’t know what is happening.”
The parents called on the authorities to treat the abduction with the urgency it deserved, warning that the prolonged captivity had placed the children’s safety and well-being at greater risk.
