As the campaign season hots up, families of the abducted children in Borno and Niger States are still looking up to the authorities for intervention. Weekend Trust reports that while the pupils kidnapped in Borno have spent 213 days in captivity, students abducted in Niger have also remained in the hands of their captors for more than two weeks.

Today makes it 213 days of agony and sleepless nights for the families of the abducted children in Mussa and Lassa communities of Askira-Uba Local Government Area in Borno State.

The78 children, including toddlers less than two years old, who were abducted following two separate operations by bandits and insurgents, are still in captivity, even as politicians intensify campaigns for political power.

The nightmare began on May 15, 2026 when at least 42 pupils and students were taken from their classrooms in Mussa Primary and Secondary School. Weeks later, on June 29, another set of 36 students were abducted in Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, further escalating security concerns in the area.

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Since then, the whereabouts of the children have remained unknown, plunging the families into a state of painful trauma.

The Mussa school children were abducted on the same day as the 44 pupils and teachers from a school in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State. But unlike the Mussa schoolchildren that have remained in captivity, the Oyo children were rescued on July 10, 2026 after 56 days in captivity after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu gave marching orders to heads of security operatives to rescue them.

Weekend Trust reports that parents of the abducted pupils in Borno have on various occasions expressed frustration over what they described as “silence” from both the federal and state governments.

The families are alleging that the authorities have entirely abandoned them; expressing fear that their children may have been forgotten by the same people they voted to power to protect them.

The chairman of the parents of the abducted children, Mr Ishaku Suya, told our correspondent that the communities had remained in despair since the abduction of the schoolchildren.

“Officially, I have not heard anything from the federal or state governments. Nobody is saying anything. And nobody has reached out to us from the side of the abductors,” he said.

According to him, the mothers of the abducted children are always crying and thinking about their condition. “As men, we cannot cry, but we can’t eat food whenever we remember that our toddlers, some of them less than 2 years old, are still in the hands of their abductors. We all feel abandoned,” he said.

He said that many grieving parents, who are tired of empty promises from the authorities, have resorted to constant prayers.

“Recently, a delegation of mothers from Mussa arranged to travel to Maiduguri to appeal directly to the Borno State governor, Babagana Umara Zulum for immediate intervention,” he noted.

Parents of the abducted GDSS Lassa students shortly after military/hunters came back with school uniforms and bags.

Lassa delegation meets Governor Zulum

Speaking to our correspondent, Mrs Mary Dauda, whose 18-year-old grandson, Gabriel was taken in Lassa, said the pain of losing him to abductors had been tormenting.

“There is nothing we can do; that is why we have resorted to prayers. Only God will help us in this situation because nobody has said he has seen or heard where our children are kept. And the abductors have not reached out to us or the government for ransom or anything,” she said.

Mary said they were willing to part with anything for the abductors to release the children as they prepare to celebrate Christmas, adding that they visited Governor Zulum on a Sunday and he reassured them that the children would be released

Although we have heard a series of such promises, we have to trust him this time around. But only God will help us in this situation because nobody knows where our children are kept. May God touch their hearts to release our children voluntarily,” she said.

Josephine Yohanna, whose three-year-old child was abducted, shared a similar heartbreak. She said: “For the past months, the pain of living without our child has been acute. Some of us have fallen sick; we cannot eat or sleep.

“When government officials came, they told us to exercise patience. For how long should we continue waiting without any update?”

She said that families of the children were willing to sacrifice anything to have them at home to celebrate Christmas.

Josephine, whose three-year-old child is among those snatched by the gunmen, said they had concluded an arrangement to meet Governor Zulum and appeal for his intervention.

Another parent, Sale Buba, expressed frustration over how both the state and federal governments have remained silent over the plight of the abducted children.

“Unfortunately, nobody is talking about it. And we have not noticed any visible effort by security operatives to rescue our children,” he alleged.

Buba appealed to the abductors to come out and claim responsibility for the abduction. He added: “We are tired of the suspense. Tell us the reason for abducting the toddlers and present your demands.”

Most of the parents who spoke with our correspondent said they strongly believed that the abductors were still hiding in the nearby Sambisa forest or Mandara mountains.

Mista Ali also said: “They are holding our children close to us, but we have not seen any security improvement in our area, let alone deployment of a special squad for the rescue operation.”

“We thank the government for its efforts, but let the security agencies act and rescue our innocent children,” he pleaded.

While the community acknowledges the efforts of the Borno State Government through the commissioner for education, they argue that the federal government has been largely absent.

Another parent from Lassa, Emmanuel Samuel, said that after meeting with Governor Zulum, they were hopeful that very soon, their children would be released.

“We met with the governor and Senator Ndume in Maiduguri on Sunday and they promised that our children would be freed very soon,” he said.

According to him, the governor said they should exercise more patience, revealing that the children were about to be released when they encountered a last minute setback.

“Nineteen of us went to the Government House in Maiduguri to see the governor. I flew from Abuja and he engaged with us on Sunday. We slept at the Government Lodge and returned to Lassa the following morning,” he said.

He said that despite the setback, the governor assured them that the situation was being actively handled and they were hopeful that the abductors would release both the Mussa and Lassa schoolchildren.

“They assured that all the children were living in the same place and would be released at the same time,” he added.

Parents of the children abducted from Mussa and Lassa communities of Askira-Uba in Borno State during a protest on September 21, 2026, demanding their release.

Information leakage sabotages rescue operation – Security

One of the security operatives who participated in a joint security rescue operation aimed at freeing the abducted children said information leakage sabotaged the first rescue operation.

Speaking anonymously to our correspondent, the security source detailed how security forces, comprising soldiers, local hunters and vigilantes came very close to catching up with the abductors before the operation was thwarted by leaked intelligence that reached the attackers.

“The mission was swiftly organised as soon as the children were abducted. On May 15, the commandant of the operation assembled the joint security force in Askira-Uba and collected all the personal mobile phones from the personnel before briefing them on the sighting of the abductors in a remote village,” he said.

Acting on the brief, the heavily armed convoy, consisting of over 40 motorcycles, gun trucks and Hilux vans, swung into action.

He said the team traversed difficult terrains, passing through Lehu village, Bula Kutege and Tuga (an area under a Boko Haram caliphate) before pushing onward to Yumir-Chika.

He said that upon arriving near the Farma in Kwarkwar area, the operatives dismounted, leaving their motorcycles behind to trek into the town.

“We entered the town and gathered all the residents, but we could not find the male adults; only women and children were present,” the source narrated.

He said they saw one teenage boy and asked him about the whereabouts of the kidnapped children.

“The boy told us that the children were previously kept in the mosque, but the insurgents received information that hunters were coming to rescue them and they quickly packed up and took the captives away on motorcycles,” he said.

He said that during a search of the village mosque, operatives discovered a solar-powered charging station with more than 30 mobile phones plugged in.

“We confiscated the phones, dispersed the remaining women and children and took the teenage boy as a guide,” he added.

However, as the team tried to withdraw from the village, the situation quickly deteriorated. The insurgents set up an ambush along their exit route.

“As we picked up our motorcycles and trucks, trying to leave, the assailants started raining bullets on us. It was only by God’s grace that we were able to escape alive,” he recounted.

During the intense firefight, the attackers managed to seize 13 motorcycles and a Hilux van belonging to local hunters, Weekend Trust gathered.

“We were able to pull back and escape towards Chibok with the help of air support from the military’s air component,” he said

This incident revealed the persistent threat of compromised operational security in the fight against insurgents, where timely information leaks continue to jeopardise the lives of security personnel and rescue victims alike.

‘Sustain public pressure’

Amid the growing anxiety over the prolonged captivity of the schoolchildren, public concerns regarding the alleged inaction of security forces, analysts have called for sustained pressure.

security expert and analyst, Major-General Umar I. Mohammed (retd), noted that the rescue operation had taken longer than expected because the government and security operatives were “not doing anything about the situation”.

“Security operatives will never tell you what they are doing or what they intend to do. I am sure the security agencies made efforts, but not as robust as that of the case of the Oyo children,” he said.

He suggested that the security responses in Oyo State should serve as a benchmark, noting that the immediate deployment of a coordinated, multi-agency force involving the army, air force and other security apparatuses demonstrated a proactive stance that should be replicated nationwide.

He called on the federal government to show equal concern for every Nigerian facing security threats, urging security authorities to do more.

He called for concerted efforts to ensure that the children are rescued and reunited with their families.

The spokesman of the Borno State governor, Malam Dauda Iliya, said efforts had been intensified in recent days to secure the freedom of the abducted children.

He said the governor, Babagana Zulum and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu met recently and discussed the security situation in the region. “The plight of the abducted children took centre stage. Afterwards, he met with the parents and briefed them on the efforts being made, assuring them that their children would be rescued,” Iliya said.

He said the governor was treating the crisis with utmost urgency and commitment, emphasising the administration’s empathy for the grieving families.

He noted the governor had made consistent, direct engagement with the parents a priority so as to keep them informed, as well as maintain transparency.

“He consistently meets with the parents directly and gives the assurance that their children will be rescued,” the spokesman added.

He noted that the frequency of these meetings underscored how deeply the government shared in the pain of the affected families.

Niger abduction: Concerns grow over govt’s ‘silence’ two weeks after

Similarly, two weeks after 15 female students of Madarasatul Nurul Islam, an Islamiyyah school in Maikujeri community, Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, were abducted by bandits, their parents have expressed worry over the state government’s silence on the incident.

The victims’ parents told Weekend Trust that they had been left in fear and uncertainty. The young girls were kidnapped on October 31, 2026 where they had gone to assist the head teacher of their school, Mallam Aminu Mallam Bako harvest maize on his farm.

The teacher, however, said he had asked the students to return home when he received a call that bandits were advancing towards the area. According to him, the children came in contact with them on their way home and were kidnapped.

One of the parents, Alhaji Yahaya Mohammed, whose daughter is among the abducted students, told Weekend Trust that some of the victims were in their final year and had used the weekend to help their teacher on his farm. He said the abductors first contacted the families four days after the incident on November 3, 2026, demanding N100 million as ransom.

“They were kidnapped on October 31, but the attackers didn’t call until four days after the incident. They said they were happy that they had kidnapped the students; and although they attended an Islamiyyah school, they were also aware that they were attending western education schools. They said they decided to kidnap schoolchildren because the government must look for money to give them.

“They said that if the government refused to give them money, they would not release the children,” he said.

He also said the abductors promised to call back after the parents told them that they could not afford the N100 million they demand, but they were yet to call back.

Mohammed said it had been 10 days since the first communication with the kidnappers, adding that they did not allow parents to speak with their children. He lamented that the affected families were too impoverished to raise the ransom, saying most of the parents could not even afford N20,000.

“All the kidnapped children are from poor families. Currently, none of the parents can raise N20,000 because we have not been able to harvest our crops due to insecurity,” he said.

He also cited the case of his neighbour, Muhammadu Salisu, whose two daughters are among the abducted students, saying the bandits recently rustled his cattle and prevented him from accessing his farm. Mohammed said Salisu could hardly raise N10,000, adding that the affected families were struggling to feed themselves.

“We are villagers; we don’t have money, we are just struggling to feed. The government should come to our aid,” he added.

He also noted that the abduction had taken a psychological toll on families, disclosing that some mothers are currently in hospital due to trauma. He said one of the mothers could not eat for three days following the incident.

Expressing disappointment over the state government’s silence, Mohammed said the only government officials who had visited the affected families were the local government chairman, the divisional police officer and the local government education secretary, who came to sympathise with them.

“But we haven’t heard anything from the state government,” he said.

On Thursday, Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago flagged off his campaign in the state capital, Minna, where he pledged the support of the state to the ruling All Progressives Congress and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. There was no mention of the abducted children or efforts being made to rescue them at that event. Efforts by our correspondent to get information on how far security operatives have gone on the rescue operation were unsuccessful. At t time of filing this report, the spokesperson for the Niger State police command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, had yet to respond to a message sent to him on the matter.

‘Campaigns priority for now’

Speaking with Weekend Trust, a security analyst, Dr Kamar Hamza, attributed the lack of attention to the abducted schoolchildren to the ongoing political campaign season. He explained that politicians, especially those in power, may be reluctant to discuss security incidents capable of attracting negative publicity.

Hamza said politicians, particularly those in government, were more likely to focus on issues that could boost their popularity during campaigns than isolated security incidents.

“The incident cannot form part of the discussion of politicians, especially those in power in this campaign period because it is negative publicity. They wouldn’t want to do it at all. What they want now is only special cases that would give them popularity,” he said.

He, however, noted that politicians might be compelled to address security challenges when they became major issues attracting pressure from opposition parties and civil society organisations.

The security expert urged the affected parents to mobilise community leaders and their elected representatives at state assemblies and the National Assembly to draw government’s attention to the plight of the abducted children.

“Parents should not fold their arms; they need to push and show desperation about the plight of their children. Representatives need to follow up on the demands of their constituents,” Hamza said. (Weekend Trust)