In Kebbi State, hunters, who were combing forests in the state to rescue the abducted students of the FGC, Birnin Yauri, have stopped their search.
One of the hunters, who spoke to one of our correspondents, on the condition of anonymity, said they initially embarked on combing forests, but stopped when government reneged on its promise.
He said, “Before we embarked on the search of the forests, our leadership held discussion with the government team, but the government did not fully fulfil its part of the discussion.
“The government gave us N30,000 to take care of our families so that they would not face any difficulty in our absence and each of us(hunters) was given N5,000.
“We eventually backed out of the rescue mission, when we realised that government was not forthcoming in providing other logistics we requested such as guns, motorcycles and weapons.”
A government house source said from the time the bandits struck in the state, the state government had provided at least 50 Hilux pick-up vans and 300 motorcycles to support the police, army and civil defence in their task of curtailing attacks on the state.
“You know how expensive security is anywhere in the world. Notwithstanding, the constraint of full control over the security agencies, the state government under Senator Atiku Bagudu is poised to end banditry in the state,” the source stated.
A mother of one of the students, still in captivity, said parents had resigned to their fate. She stated, “The government has failed us. They keep giving us endless hope. The last time the leadership of the parent–teacher association met with government officials in Birnin Kebbi, nothing concrete on their efforts to rescue the children came out of the meeting.”
Copyright PUNCH.