ADP Presidential Aspirant Abbas Condemns Rising Kidnapping Of School Children
*Calls for urgent national security reforms on Children’s Day
A Presidential Aspirant under the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Ambassador Aliyu Bin Abbas has strongly condemned the deliberate target of school children by criminals as easy bait for kidnapping.
He expressed this in a statement he personally signed, and made available to commemorate the Children's Day celebration.
According to the statement issued to newsmen in Kaduna on May 27, 2026 by his SA Media and Publicity, Okpani Jacob Onjewu Dickson, more needs to be done in ensuring safety of children in their various schools.
"As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to celebrate this year’s Children’s Day, my heart is heavy over the painful and deeply disturbing rise in the kidnapping of innocent schoolchildren and minors across various parts of our nation.
"Children’s Day ought to be a moment of laughter, hope, dreams, and renewed commitment to the future of our dear country, sadly, for too many Nigerian families today, it has become a season overshadowed by fear, uncertainty, and anxiety over the safety of their children," he said.
According to the statement titled, "CHILDREN MUST NEVER BECOME TARGETS OF TERROR" he lamented the repeated abduction of children from schools, communities, and even places once considered safe.
"It is not merely a security concern; it is a moral emergency and a national tragedy, no nation can truly progress when its children grow up under the shadow of terror and insecurity.
"I strongly condemn these criminal acts in all their forms and call on all security agencies, community leaders, traditional institutions, faith-based organizations, and citizens to unite beyond politics, ethnicity, or religion in confronting this menace.
"Our children deserve books, not bullets. They deserve classrooms, not captivity. They deserve hope, not horror," he said.
As a Presidential Aspirant under the platform of the Action Democratic Party, he said that he believes Nigeria must urgently adopt a more proactive, intelligence-driven, and community-based security architecture capable of preventing these crimes before they occur.
To effectively tackle the growing insecurity affecting children and vulnerable communities, he therefore , suggested establishment of a National School and Child Protection Security Network with trained rapid-response units dedicated to schools and child-sensitive areas.
He further suggested, "Increased investment in modern surveillance technology, intelligence gathering, and rural security monitoring systems.
"Strengthening community policing and local intelligence partnerships between citizens and security agencies.
"Special security intervention funds for vulnerable schools, especially in rural communities.
"Improved welfare, training, and operational support for security personnel to enhance effectiveness and morale.
"Severe and expedited prosecution of kidnappers, child traffickers, and collaborators through special security courts".
Ambassador Abbas also stressed that massive youth employment and economic empowerment initiatives will ultimately reduce criminal recruitment and social desperation.
"Nigeria cannot continue to normalize the fear of kidnapping as part of daily life. We must rise collectively as one people to protect the innocence, future, and dignity of every Nigerian child.
"On this Children’s Day, I reaffirm my commitment to building a Nigeria where every child can learn safely, dream freely, and grow without fear.
"To every Nigerian child: your future matters, your dreams are valid, and this nation still belongs to you," he said.
