The Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) has described Friday’s kidnapping of Nigeria’s first Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr Shettima Ali Monguno as sad and called on the kidnappers to release him without delay.
Chairman of the forum and Governor of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu on Saturday said it is totally unacceptable that elder statesmen who have served the nation selflessly would now become the target of kidnappers who are now on rampage across the country.
“It is bad enough that several innocent citizens have been killed by unknown gunmen in the troubled Borno State in recent times. Adding the fear of kidnapping of elder statesmen who have served their fatherland selflessly to their burden is unbearable,” the forum said in a statement signed by Aliyu’s Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo.
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The statement called on security agencies to act swiftly to trace and arrest those behind the abduction of Dr Monguno, to serve as a deterrent to those who may want to now target our elder statesmen, or any Nigerian for that matter.
It hailed the Borno State Government for the steps taken so far to rescue the 92-year-old from his abductors, while assuring Nigerians that the forum was working closely with the federal government to tackle the challenges of insecurity decisively.
