The Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, has said it would do all that is required for peace to return to the nation even if it takes the forum to engage in dialogue with bandits.
The Chairman of the NGF, Dr Kayode Fayemi said this on Tuesday when he led some members of the forum on a solidarity visit to the Niger State Governor, Sani Bello, in Minna, the state capital.
The visit followed the abduction of no fewer than 27 students of Government Science College Kagara, 3 teachers, two non teaching staff and 9 family members of the staff staying in the quarters on February 16 by bandits in the State.
Prior to the Kagara abduction, some bandits stopped a Niger State Transit Authority (NSTA) bus in the Yakila district of the Rafi Local Government Area on Feb. 15 and abducted at least 21 of the passengers.
Dr Kayode Fayemi, while sympathizing with the Niger Governor, said the issue of insecurity was a national concern, adding that the several abductions in the State was not unique to Niger.
According to him: “We all feel your pain. We feel the fears and the anxieties of the good people of Niger State. This is not uncommon. What happens here is not unique to you.
“We also need to explore other avenues side by side with whatever the security institutions are doing if that means engaging in dialogue We may not have a choice. We may have to do that, anything to help us to deal with this immediate crisis and then to begin to address on a much more longer time basis, the root causes of this social dislocation responsible for what we are witnessing, all around us.”
