…demonstrators attack FG, Makinde

Protests broke out in Ibadan yesterday over the May 15 abductions of pupils and teachers in the Oriire Local Government Area in Oyo State by terrorists.

The protesters, comprising residents and civil society groups, demanded urgent action from the government and security agencies to secure the release of the victims.

They also decried the worsening security situation in the state, demanding protection for citizens. The demonstrators marched through major parts of Ibadan carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Stand Up, Speak Out”, “Bring back our Children”, Enough is Enough”, “The future of our children is in jeopardy,” “Every Life Matters, Stop the Kidnappers”.

One of the protesters said: “President Tinubu cannot be sleeping in his house while our students and teachers are suffering in the forest. “The Federal Government has failed Nigerians. They cannot secure us. We can’t take this any longer.”

An abducted woman’s husband, who spoke on condition of anonymity, criticised the Saturday visit of Governor Seyi Makinde, as well as the Sunday visit of the Federal Government delegation to the families of the abductees in Ogbomoso.

He said: “My wife has been in captivity for the past 17 or 18 days. I am left with our little children, who are being taken care of by me. “I have had to take them to Igbo Ora, my hometown, when I could not bear the agony any longer.

“The children keep saying: ‘Daddy, daddy, daddy, where is mummy?’ I just kept telling them that their mummy will soon come back home. “The government’s visit was rather too late. Since that day, they have been visiting their relatives. Why are they in governance? I am disappointed.

“They did not care about us, and that is what I can say. They only care about themselves. “If it is their family and maybe their daughters that were kidnapped, they know what to do at the right time.”