Vice-President Kashim Shettima says President Bola Tinubu has ordered the entire security architecture in the country to rescue the abducted Kaduna school children.
Mr Shettima said this on Saturday when he paid a sympathy visit to Gov. Uba Sani.
The Vice-President, who said Mr Tinubu was personally pained by the unfortunate incident, gave assurance that the President was equal to the task of securing the country.
“I am here at the behest of President Bola Tinubu to empathise, in solidarity with the government and people of Kaduna State, over the sad incident of the kidnapping of our school children.
“The President was personally pained by what happened and he has instructed the security agencies to leave no stone unturned until we return our children to their parents.
“He is in regular contact with the governor.
To date, he has spoken with the governor four times and with me three times, asking if the children have been rescued.
“On behalf of my principal, President Bola Tinubu, please accept our sympathy over the travails that have befallen our people.
“Be rest assured that the President is equal to the task, the very essence of the existence of government is to secure the lives and properties of the citizenry.
“I appeal to the media to be very selective in their choice of reporting the incident, in the interest of the children that are affected.”
He, however, commended the media and solicited their continued support.
“Our friends from the media, we have come a long way and we will go a long way with you.
“You are our friends, you are our contemporaries, you are our brothers,” Mr Shettima said.
Earlier, Mr Sani said that Mr Tinubu, Mr Shettima, and the security agencies had been working closely with the Kaduna state government since the incident.
According to him, the state government is also working with the affected community, the leadership of Chikun Local Government, as well as relevant security agencies to ensure that all the children return home safely.
“I would like to thank the Vice-President for visiting us, to commiserate with the people and Government of Kaduna over the unfortunate incident.
“I am happy that since the incident happened, President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima as well as the security agencies in the country have been working closely with us to ensure the safe return of the children.
“I would like to caution the media to be very careful in the way they make their own reports because, at this critical time, we have to avoid politicising this very unfortunate incident.
“What is important to us is the safe return of the children, and, of course, we cannot allow anybody to jeopardise the safety of the kidnapped children,” Mr Sani said.
No less than 287 pupils and teachers of Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School in Kuriga, Kaduna, were abducted by bandits on Thursday, triggering nationwide outrage.
The bandits reportedly invaded the Kuriga area of Chikun Local Government Area in Kaduna State, shooting at some of their victims before taking away the remaining pupils and teachers from both schools.
(NAN)