The Humanitarian Times

By Abdulkareem Haruna

​The North East Civil Society Network has launched a scathing critique of the Federal Government, accusing the administration of displaying “regional bias” in its response to the alarming surge in child abductions across the country.

In a press statement issued on Friday, May 1, 2026, the network’s zonal Chairman, Amb. Ahmed Shehu, lamented the silence of the Presidency regarding the fate of hundreds of children abducted in Borno State, contrasting it with the swift response triggered in other regions.

​The statement highlights a staggering tally of violence: the abduction of 416 women and children in Ngoshe, Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State three months ago, and the more recent kidnapping of 42 school children from Musa Primary School in Askira Uba, Borno.

The group noted that today marks 16 days since the abduction of 46 primary school children and their principal in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State. While the government has mobilized a high-level security team for the Oyo rescue mission, the network argues that the victims in the North East have been largely abandoned.

Are Some Children More Precious?

​”We are angry. And we have questions,” Amb. Shehu stated. “Does that mean some Nigerian children are more precious than others? Does that mean children from the North East are less Nigerian than those from the South?”

​The group questioned the rationale behind the Federal Government’s selective deployment of security resources, specifically pointing out that Borno is the home state of the Vice President.

“When the FG can dispatch a full security team to Oyo State to ensure rescue before they leave, why can’t they do the same for Borno State? How many times has this happened in the North? How many times have we seen this level of response?” the statement queried.

The network praised social media influencers and media activists for forcing the government’s hand through public pressure, but expressed disappointment in the silence of elected representatives and political opposition. While the Borno State Government was commended for sending a delegation to console the affected families in Askira Uba, the group emphasized that “consolation without rescue is not enough.”

The Demands

Aligning itself with the Network of Civil Society Organizations in Borno State, the North East Civil Society Network issued a four-point demand to the Federal Government:

• ​Immediate Parity in Rescue Operations: The deployment of the same high-level security team currently operating in Oyo State to Borno State, effective immediately.
• ​Transparency and Accountability: Daily public briefings from the Presidency and security agencies regarding the status of rescue efforts for all abducted children, regardless of their location.
• ​End to Regional Bias: A commitment to non-discriminatory national security, ensuring that the state responds with equal vigor to crises in all parts of the country.
• ​Action on Safe Schools: A transition of the ‘Safe Schools Declaration’ from rhetoric to reality, with enhanced security measures in schools situated in conflict-affected and high-risk communities.

“Our children are not bargaining chips. They are not statistics,” the statement concluded. “Every child—in Borno, in Oyo, in Zamfara—deserves the full force of the Nigerian state.”

​As of the time of filing this report, the Presidency had not issued a formal response to the demands. The growing frustration in the North East, underscored by the hashtag #BringBackOurChildren, signals a deepening trust deficit between the government and citizens in the region regarding national security management.