The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has commended the Federal Government and security agencies for the successful rescue of schoolchildren and teachers abducted in Oyo State, while criticising what it described as the government’s “painful silence” over dozens of other victims still being held by terrorists in parts of Borno and Kaduna states.

In a statement signed by its spokesman, Luka Binniyat, the forum said the safe return of the Oyo victims brought “great relief” to their families and Nigerians, but insisted that similar urgency must be extended to citizens still in captivity across the country.

“Their safe return has brought great relief to their families and to Nigerians who followed their painful ordeal,” the MBF said.

However, the forum stressed that safeguarding citizens was a constitutional obligation rather than an act of goodwill.

“Protecting the lives and property of citizens is not an act of charity. It is the primary reason government exists,” the forum said.

Citing Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the MBF added: “The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. Every Nigerian, regardless of ethnicity, religion or location, deserves equal protection under this constitutional obligation.”

The forum lamented that on the same day schoolchildren were abducted in Oyo State, Boko Haram insurgents also attacked Government Day Secondary School, Mussa, in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, abducting 42 children, including toddlers.

“While the entire nation rightly mobilised in support of the Oyo victims, the children of Mussa have suffered in almost complete silence,” the statement said.

It added that there had been “little visible concern” from the Federal Government, Borno State Government, the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), civil society organisations and the media.

“The Middle Belt Forum finds this painful silence difficult to understand and impossible to justify,” it stated.

The MBF also recalled another attack on June 29, 2026, when terrorists invaded Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, also in Askira/Uba LGA, abducting 36 students and a staff member while examinations were in progress.

It said at least one teacher was killed during the attack.

“Since the first reports of that horrific incident, the nation appears to have moved on, leaving the victims and their grieving families to suffer alone. It is as if these children have been forgotten simply because they come from what appears to be a neglected part of Nigeria,” the forum said.

The statement further noted that seven children abducted during an attack on Shikarkir community in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State in August 2025 remain in captivity.

“There has been no sustained national outrage, no coordinated campaign for their rescue and no consistent public pressure on government to secure their freedom,” it added.

The MBF also highlighted attacks in Southern Kaduna, including the April 6, 2026 assault on three churches in Ariko village, Kachia LGA, during Easter Sunday worship, where seven worshippers were killed and 37 others abducted.

It said another attack on Awon community on April 20 left two people dead and 11 others kidnapped, noting that many of the victims remained in captivity.

“All these victims remain in captivity, while their families continue to endure unimaginable pain with little reassurance from those entrusted with protecting them,” the statement said.

The forum criticised government programmes for repentant insurgents and bandits, arguing that greater priority should be placed on rescuing innocent citizens.

“The Middle Belt Forum believes that no government should appear more concerned about rehabilitating criminals than rescuing innocent citizens still held by those same criminals,” it said.

“The continued silence of both the Federal Government and the governments of Borno and Kaduna States sends a dangerous message that some Nigerian lives matter more than others.”

“Have the children of Southern Borno and Southern Kaduna become invisible to their own country? Have their families been abandoned simply because they live in communities that rarely make national headlines?”

The forum urged the governments of Borno and Kaduna states to emulate the commitment demonstrated by Oyo State during efforts to secure the release of its abducted schoolchildren.

“Families of the abducted deserve regular briefings on the efforts being made to secure the safe return of their loved ones,” it said.

The MBF also called on the Federal Government to intensify rescue operations for all Nigerians still in captivity.

“The rescue of the Oyo victims has demonstrated that determined action can produce results. The same commitment must now be extended to every Nigerian still in captivity,” the statement added.

It further appealed to the Nigerian Union of Teachers to extend the same advocacy shown for teachers and pupils in Oyo to victims in Southern Borno.

The forum urged civil society organisations, religious leaders, development partners, the media and the international community to sustain attention on victims still in captivity.

“Every Nigerian child held hostage by enemies of society deserves to be remembered. Every hostage deserves hope. Every family deserves justice,” the forum added. (The Sun)