By Taibat Ummi Yakubu

Parents of dozens of schoolchildren abducted in Borno State have issued a six-day ultimatum to the Federal Government, threatening to march on the Presidential Villa in Abuja if their children are not rescued from captivity.

The parents and community members from Mussa and Lassa in Askira/Uba Local Government Area made the threat during a protest over what they described as the government’s failure to secure the release of the children, who have reportedly spent more than four months in the hands of insurgents.

The children were abducted during a wave of attacks that began on May 15, 2026.

According to the affected families, 44 children were taken from Mussa Ward, while another 36 were abducted from schools in Lassa, bringing the reported number of victims to 80.

The parents, visibly distressed by the prolonged captivity of their children, said they could no longer remain silent while their loved ones remained in the hands of their abductors.

Leading the protest, Chairman of the parents’ group, Ishaku Suya, made an emotional appeal directly to President Bola Tinubu, demanding urgent action to bring the children home.

“I’m making this loudest call to Mr President that we, the parents of the abducted children of Mussa and Lassa, will take over the streets of the Presidential Villa if he doesn’t rescue our children as he rescued the Oyo children,” Suya said.

He added: “He should either kill us, leave us alive, or rescue our children.”

The parents' frustration was further fuelled by what they described as differences in the government's response to kidnapping incidents in other parts of the country.

One of the grieving mothers, Josphin Yohanna, questioned why the government could respond quickly to the abduction of schoolchildren in Oyo State but had yet to secure the release of their children in Borno.

“Why shouldn’t the President extend similar urgency to our children in the Northeast? We are equally Nigerians,” she said.

The families argued that the reported rescue of abducted children elsewhere demonstrated that the government possesses the security capacity to intervene when necessary.

For the parents, the prolonged captivity of their children has become unbearable, particularly as the victims have reportedly spent more than 130 days away from their homes and families.

Advertisement

The issue has also drawn the attention of the National Assembly.

Dr Midala Usman Balami, the member of the House of Representatives representing Askira/Uba and Hawul Federal Constituency, condemned the continued captivity of the children and called for urgent intervention by the Federal and Borno State governments.

Balami said he had already raised the matter at the National Assembly and pledged to continue pressing for action until the victims are rescued.

“A week back, I organised a press conference with the intention of bringing the issue to the limelight, and we are talking with one voice: rescue our children,” he said.

The lawmaker urged the authorities to deploy every available security resource to locate and rescue the children, stressing that their continued captivity represented a serious threat to the lives and future of innocent citizens.

The parents also rejected what they described as repeated appeals for patience, insisting that more than four months in captivity was already too long.

“Our children were abducted the same time as those of Oyo, but Oyo children were rescued because they defied government call to be patient, but ours remain in captivity,” another parent said.

Another parent expressed frustration over what he described as the treatment of affected families as though they were outsiders in their own country.

“No going back on this. We were treated like foreigners in our own country for being law-abiding. Why?” he asked.

The families are now counting down the six days given to the government, with the threat of a protest at the Presidential Villa adding fresh pressure on authorities to secure the release of the children.

As of press time, the Presidency had not issued an official response to the ultimatum.