How to free abducted students - Shehu Sani

To free the abducted Chibok school girls, there is need to set up a panel of respected Islamic leaders, which should also comprise facilitators of the Dr. Datti Ahmed peace talks, selected insurgents currently in detention and journalists from Maiduguri, president of the Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria, Shehu Sani, has said.

Sani, in a statement, said the clear terms of reference for the panel should be to open a channel of communication with the insurgents and secure release of the girls.

“This is not the first time insurgents are abducting girls, but the nation simply did not take action,” he said.

He said the use of force or the threat of use of force to free the girls can only lead to a tragic end as it would put the lives of the students in greater danger.

“If the nation had taken serious lessons from earlier brigandage by the insurgents, we would not have been talking of the use of force to free our children. For over three years, the insurgents have been burning schools, killing teachers and abducting children, why did our outrage wait for Chibok?” Sani said.

He added: “The children of Chibok are clearly hostages and any attempt to free them must be through a channel that will not put their lives in further danger. Anywhere in the world where children are used as human shields by gunmen, use of force have always proven to be fatal.