US Senator Jim Risch of Idaho has condemned Nigeria over the recent abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi State, saying the country has repeatedly failed to protect its students from attacks by jihadists and criminal gangs.
In a statement posted on X on Tuesday, Risch highlighted that schoolchildren, particularly girls, remain prime targets for enslavement, forced conversion, and ransom.
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He added that the United States will continue engaging the Nigerian government on the protection of its most vulnerable citizens and stressed that the country will be held accountable for lapses in security.
“Nigeria has long failed to protect its schoolchildren from jihadist and criminal abductions, and little has changed,” he wrote.
“As the U.S. engages the Nigerian government on the persecution of its most vulnerable citizens, we will continue to hold them accountable.”
The statement comes in the wake of the deadly attack on Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi, where gunmen killed the vice principal and abducted 25 students, triggering national and international outrage.
Also reacting to the abduction, United States lawmaker Riley Moore, in a post shared on X yesterday, condemned the incident and called for prayers for the victims. “Please join me in praying for the 25 girls who have been kidnapped and for the repose of the soul of their vice principal, who was killed.
“While we don’t have all the details on this horrific attack, we know that the attack occurred in a Christian enclave in Northern Nigeria. The Nigerian government must do more to end the rampant violence,’’ he wrote.