Pascal Oparada
Gunmen struck while Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, who is the country’s Commander-in-Chief, was visiting Katsina, his home state.
The heavy presence of security operatives in the state deployed as a result of the president’s visit did little to instil fear in the hearts of the abductors.
Nigerians see the act as an affront on the country, the security chiefs and ultimately, the president.
Calls for the security chiefs to resign have intensified because of the latest abductions.
According to them, the abductors wanted to prove to the president and the entire nation that not even the presence of the Commander in Chief could deter them.
EndSARS campaigner, Rinu described the act as ‘sheer audacity’ and shows the extent of insecurity in the country.
“To imagine that terrorists actually abducted schoolchildren in Katsina, the home state of the President while he is currently in the state. It’s the audacity and sheer extent of insecurity in Nigeria for me,” she said.
An aide to former president Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri said the president’s visit did little to deter the bandits.
Activists, Aisha Yesufu wondered how bandits can strike while a state can be attacked right under the nose of the president.
“How come the Commander-in-chief is in a State and the State was not locked down? How can a State rife in insecurity was not on high-security alert even if not on a normal day but with the Commander-in-chief in town? What the hell is happening?
“When Buhari went to Maiduguri, the terrorists attacked a few hours after he left Maiduguri, now Buhari is in Katsina with the supposed security around and our children abducted from a school in Katsina? Noooooooooooooooooo!” She said.
There are still controversies surrounding the actual number of students abducted by the bandits.