CAN: 78 Borno Schoolchildren Still Captive After 100 Days

More than 100 days in captivity is long enough for a kidnapping to become another forgotten headline.

The Christian Association of Nigeria, Borno State chapter, is demanding that this particular story does not disappear.

ValidViewNetwork reports that CAN has called for the urgent rescue of 78 schoolchildren and other victims who have reportedly remained in captivity for more than 100 days.

The call was made by the Borno CAN chairman, Most Reverend John Bakeni, who said the prolonged captivity of the victims was unacceptable.

But there is another lesson in the story.

Rescue operations require intelligence, security capacity and careful planning. Public pressure cannot replace those things.

It can, however, prevent victims from disappearing from national attention.

The Oriire abductions in Oyo State showed how sustained public advocacy can keep pressure on authorities.

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Politicians, celebrities, advocacy groups, associations, entertainers, skit makers and ordinary Nigerians repeatedly amplified demands for action during the Oriire Abduction.

The North needs to understand that public mobilisation should not be reserved for religious controversies, celebrity marriages or entertainment disputes.

Northern celebrities, media personalities, community leaders and advocacy organisations have enormous audiences. Those audiences can be mobilised around kidnapping, banditry and the economic destruction insecurity has inflicted on communities.

Farmers have abandoned fields. Traders have lost businesses. Children have lost access to school. Families have been displaced.

The 78 children in Borno therefore need more than occasional headlines.They need sustained attention until there is an outcome. ValidViewNetwork reports.