Kidnapping school children in Northern Nigeria now lucrative business – Shehu Sani

Former Senator Shehu Sani expressed concerns over the frequent kidnapping of school children by terrorists in northern Nigeria, labeling it as a profitable venture that undermines the region’s educational sector.

He highlighted that kidnappers exploit these abductions to extort hefty ransoms from the government, leveraging public sympathy to pressure authorities into meeting their demands. Sani’s remarks came following a recent incident where terrorists abducted approximately 285 pupils and teachers from LGEA Primary School in Kaduna State.

He emphasized the detrimental impact such incidents have on basic education in rural areas, predicting heightened parental fear regarding sending their children to school.

He said: “The kidnapping of school children by terrorists in Northern Nigeria is a lucrative business. They use it to blackmail government for huge payment of ransom.

“They know that it will evoke public sympathy for the pupils and pressure will be mounted on the government to bow to their demands. Many parents in rural areas are now afraid of allowing their children to go to school. This is a serious problem for basic education in Northern Nigeria.

“Though this tragic incident happened, there is a significant drop in the occurrence of such attacks on schools compared to its frequency under the last administration.”