Parents of the kidnapped students of Greenfield University, Kaduna State have appealed to the bandits to give them more time for negotiation to secure the release of their wards.
The National President of the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, on behalf of the parents, made this known in an interview with newsmen on Tuesday.
Recall that Osun Defender had earlier reported that the bandits vowed to kill the remaining 17 students if ransom is not paid.
Danjuma asked the bandits not to allow the faceoff between them and the Kaduna State Government to push them into killing the remaining 17 students in their custody.
According to him, “For me, I think the government should have a rethink about their decision not to dialogue or negotiate with the bandits. My position is based on the fact that entering into dialogue with them may not necessarily mean that government must have to pay them money. It could be an avenue to know their grouse and why they have such grouse with whosoever or whatsoever they have such.
“Assuming that the bandits even want to be paid some money, if the government is not interested in paying any money, let the government allow the parents to raise the money and pay. I heard that the parents had raised and paid the bandits over N50 million though I was not privy to that.
“The government cannot just stay aloof and not do anything. Are the children of government officials among the innocent students being traumatised? The answer may be probably no. I plead with the bandits on behalf of all Nigerian parents to spare the lives of these children. They should not allow their faceoff with the government to push them to do evil. None of the children of the governor is among the victims.
“The bandits should also fear God and spare these children. The shedding of innocent blood should stop. We cannot continue this way. We are not only killing education in the country, we are hurting and putting the future of Nigeria in jeopardy”, he said.
