We only read assurances in newspapers– Kagara parents

Parents and families of some of the kidnapped victims of Government Science College Kagara, Niger State, have bemoaned the lack of communication from the government about the whereabouts of their children.

The parents, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said all assurances they have received so far came from the pages of newspapers and social media.

The concerned parents also said the kidnappers have not contacted any of the families for ransom.

“Nobody has reached out to us; they have not demanded any ransom. This experience is just better imagined because I would have preferred a hundred time for me to see the corpse of my child, definitely know that he is dead, and then honourably bury my child than going through this trauma,” one of the parents said.

A father whose two children were among those kidnapped, Adamu Alaji, criticized government’s handling of the case, saying there is lack of seriousness in the whole issue.

“I can’t imagine my two sons sleeping with unknown gunmen inside the thick forest for long under this harsh cold weather, this is too unfair from the government,” he said.

The office of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has launched an investigation into fraudulent activities of some contractors and vendors engaged by the scheme to train and empower ex-agitators.

The interim administrator of the PAP, Colonel Milland Dixon Dikio, who confirmed the development in a statement at the weekend, said that already, preliminary investigations had uncovered acts of fraud perpetrated by some of the contractors.

He said the office expanded its investigation to determine the extent of the scam and the involvement or connivance of internal elements in the fraud.

Dikio said the ongoing probe would not stop the payment of contractors whose documents had been verified immediately expected funds were released to the office.

The amnesty boss explained that before the end of last year, the office sequentially paid 104 contractors owed by the scheme, adding that payments would continue based on the availability of funds till every genuine contractor received their money.

“The Presidential Amnesty Programme has uncovered unsavory acts of fraud perpetrated by some vendors/contractors. The office is currently investigating these activities to determine how widespread and the extent of involvement or connivance with internal elements,” he said.