‘You Are Not Forgotten’: Tinubu Vows to Rescue Abducted Children, Orders Intensified Security Operations

By Abdullahi Mukhtar Algasgaini

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday assured Nigerian children held captive by criminals in Oyo, Borno, and other states that they have not been abandoned by his administration, as he issued a series of directives to security agencies to intensify rescue operations nationwide.

In a Children’s Day statement released by the State House, the President also acknowledged the pain of grieving families, saying, “Your government will not turn your pain into ceremony.”

The address, which coincided with Eid-el-Kabir, struck a somber tone as Tinubu noted that while the nation celebrates its youngest citizens, some children and their teachers remain in captivity instead of being home with their families.

“To those children, their parents, and their teachers, I say this as a father and your President: you are not forgotten. You are not abandoned,” Tinubu said.

He directed all relevant security agencies to sustain and intensify coordinated rescue operations for abducted children and other vulnerable citizens, insisting that such operations must be “intelligence-led, carefully executed and focused on the safe recovery of our children.”

The President also ordered the strengthening of school protection measures in high-risk areas, including updated school vulnerability mapping, closer coordination between state governments and security commands, rapid response links between schools and local security units, and stronger community-based early warning systems.

The Federal Ministry of Education, working with state governments, is to deepen the implementation of the Safe Schools framework “with clear reporting, clear responsibility and clear timelines,” Tinubu added.

Beyond rescue, the President directed relevant ministries and agencies to ensure recovered children receive proper reintegration support, including medical attention, counselling, education, and dignity. “Rescue is not the end of the government’s duty,” he said.

Tinubu also appealed to parents, teachers, traditional rulers, religious leaders, community leaders, transport unions, local vigilantes, and the media to play active roles in protecting children, warning that silence about suspicious movements around schools places children at risk.

“The fight to protect children must begin before an attack happens, not after one has already occurred,” he said.

The President reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to investing in education, healthcare, nutrition, social protection, digital skills, and safer communities, adding: “Childhood must not be a privilege reserved for a few. It is the right of every Nigerian child.”

He ended with a direct message to Nigerian children: “You matter—your dreams matter; your safety matters. Your education matters. Be assured that your future matters to this government and to this nation, and we will safeguard it.”