Parents and community members of Mussa and Lassa in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State have threatened to storm the Presidential Villa in Abuja within six days if their abducted children are not rescued.
The distressed families, whose children have now spent over 130 days in the hands of insurgents, voiced their frustrations during a protest over the government’s perceived inaction in Askira Uba.
The children were seized during a wave of abductions that began on May 15, 2026.
According to the parents, the mass kidnapping includes 44 children from Mussa Ward and 36 from Lassa schools.
The chairman of the parents, Ishaku Suya, who led the outcry, issued a direct and emotional appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“I’m making this loudest call to Mr. President that we, the parents of the abducted children of Mussa and Lassa, will take over the streets of the presidential villa if he doesn’t rescue our childrenas he rescued the Oyo children. He should either kill us, leave us alive, or rescue our children,” he said
Another grieving mother, Josphin Yohanna, lamented the alleged disparity in the government’s response to the abduction of the school children in different regions.
She said the swift rescue of abducted children in Oyo State as clear proof that the Federal Government possesses the operational capacity to act decisively.
Why shouldn’t the president extend similar urgency to our children in the northeast? We are equally Nigerians,” she decried
Dr. Midala Usman Balami, the House of Representatives member representing Askira/Uba and Hawul Federal Constituency, also condemned the prolonged silence and lack of concrete action, noting that the victims have suffered for more than four months.
“A week back, I organised a press conference with the intention of bringing the issue to the limelight, and we are talking with one voice: rescue our children,” Balami stated.He revealed that he had already moved a motion regarding the tragedy in the National Assembly and pledged to follow up vigorously.
Balami urged both the Federal and Borno State governments to deploy all available security resources, emphasizing that the situation concerns the lives of innocent citizens who have suffered immensely in the region.
“Our children were abducted same time as those of Oyo but Oyo children were rescued because they defied government call to be patient, but ours remain in captivity,” another parent said.
“No going back on this, we were treated like foreigners in our own country for being lawabiding, why,” he asked.
As of press time, the Presidency has yet to issue an official response to the ultimatum.
Cc: Dailytrust