Senator Shehu Sani has asked the authorities to negotiate with the bandits who killed one student and abducted several others at the Government Science College Kagara in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.
The lawmaker said on Thursday that the boys should be negotiated out of danger because the bandits have nothing to lose and will not hesitate to harm the abductees.
Following the abduction which took place in the early hours of Wednesday, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the armed forces and police to ensure the safe return of the students and officials abducted, a directive that has since led security operatives to launch rescue missions around the region.
Mr Sani who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, however, believes that this is not the time to solely use military might, arguing that negotiation is key to rescuing those who were kidnapped in Kagara.
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“We have not learnt our lessons from Dapchi, Chibok, Kankara and now we are in Kagara. How we can get these boys out there is no other way than to receive the phone calls of those bandits who kidnapped them and negotiate the way these boys can safely return back home.
“Kidnappings or abductions and violence has been a daily issue… You can use whatever you want to use be it helicopter or operation Puff Adder or whatever operation you want to use against the bandits, but I think in the interest of the safety and for the lives of these boys, hold on with your bravado, with your helicopter and planes until these boys are safely negotiated out of danger,” Senator Sani stated.
The legislator further noted that the state and the nation have failed the lads because those in authority refuse to learn from previous abductions.