The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has accused the federal government of applying double standards in its response to recent school abductions in Oyo and Borno States.
The group alleged unequal treatment of victims based on their geographical location.
While condemning the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in both states, CNG described the incidents as evidence of the worsening security situation in the country and a growing inability of the government to protect the citizens.
In a statement issued by its national coordinator, Comrade Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, the coalition expressed concern over what it termed a pattern of selective outrage, unequal attention and discriminatory security responses to tragedies occurring in different parts of Nigeria.
According to the group, about 46 schoolchildren and teachers were abducted on May 15, 2026, from Community High School, Ahoro-Esinele, Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Charanchi said: “The incident rightly triggered national outrage and attracted immediate attention from the Federal Government. However, on the very same day, another group of terrorists abducted 42 pupils from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State.
“Yet, while the Oyo incident received swift federal sympathy, high-level visits and urgent security assurances, the victims and communities in Borno have largely been abandoned to silence and neglect.
“Following the Oyo abduction, the Federal Government reportedly dispatched a powerful delegation including the National Security Adviser and the Chief of Staff to the President. The Presidnet also approved the recruitment of 1000 forest guards for affected communities in Oyo State as part of immediate intervention measures.
“But what exactly has been done for the traumatised communities in Borno? Where are the emergency security deployments? Where are the high-powered federal delegations? Where are the special interventions and assurances for grieving Northern communities that have suffered repeated terrorist attacks, mass kidnappings and killings for years?
“The Coalition refuses to accept a Nigeria where the value of human lives is determined by geography, politics or proximity to power. While we acknowledge efforts to respond swiftly to the abduction in Oyo State, we strongly insist that the same level of urgency, outrage, attention and coordinated security response must also be extended to victims of Borno abduction.
“Nigeria must never operate a selective security system where some victims receive rapid intervention while others are abandoned to their fate simply because of geography.”
The coalition insisted that every Nigerian life should carry equal value regardless of location, ethnicity or political considerations.
The group further maintained that every Nigerian child deserves equal protection and sympathy from the government, irrespective of whether they reside in Oyo, Borno, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto or Kebbi states.
The coalition urged the Federal Government to immediately intensify rescue efforts for victims in both Oyo and Borno states and adopt a more comprehensive security strategy to tackle terrorism and banditry nationwide.
He added, “Nigerians are therefore justified in asking difficult questions: Would the federal response have been this swift and aggressive if the victims in Oyo were in a remote Northern community? Is the extraordinary attention being given to Oyo connected to the fact that the President comes from the South-West while repeated atrocities in Northern Nigeria are gradually becoming normalised?
“These are painful questions many citizens are already asking because of the obvious disparity in official responses. The Coalition wishes to make it absolutely clear that we condemn every act of terrorism, kidnapping and violence anywhere in Nigeria. We are not calling for less attention to Oyo State. Rather, we are demanding equal seriousness, equal empathy and equal national response for all victims across the federation.
“For years, Northern communities have buried thousands of innocent citizens while schools were destroyed, villages overrun and children kidnapped repeatedly with little sustained national outrage or coordinated federal action. It is rather unfortunate that the mass school abduction has now spread across the country because the government failed to decisively confront these criminal networks when it had the opportunity.
“The CNG contend that the continued inconsistency in security responses risks deepening public frustration and weakening national unity. Every Nigerian life matters equally. We cannot build a united country where some communities receive immediate federal intervention while others are abandoned to perpetual suffering.
“The government must stop operating a selective security system. Nigerians in Borno, Kaduna, Zamfara, Plateau, Benue, Kebbi and Sokoto deserve the same urgency, empathy and protection being extended to Oyo State.”
The coalition urged the Federal Government to immediately intensify rescue efforts for victims in both Oyo and Borno states and adopt a more comprehensive security strategy to tackle terrorism and banditry nationwide.
It also called for stronger protection of schools and rural communities, aggressive intelligence-led operations against terrorist enclaves and long-term measures aimed at dismantling criminal networks across the country.
“The blood of innocent Nigerian children must never become a political calculation. Nigeria cannot continue normalising mass abductions while citizens lose confidence in the ability and willingness of the government to protect them equally.
“We demand accountability, justice and equal treatment for all so as to entrench peace and security is fully restored across the country.The blood of innocent Nigerians will continue to haunt both the perpetrators and those entrusted with securing the country who have repeatedly failed to rise to the challenge.”
