The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the initial denial by the Kaduna State Police Command of the abduction of residents in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, describing it as shameful and deeply troubling.
The opposition party said the denial reflects what it described as the ruling All Progressives Congress’ levity in handling insecurity and an attempt to obscure the truth from Nigerians.
Gunmen had on Sunday attacked three churches in the Kajuru community and abducted more than 100 worshippers during church services.
On Monday, the Kaduna State Police Command dismissed the reports, describing them as falsehoods spread by what it called “conflict entrepreneurs” bent on disrupting the state’s relative peace.
The state Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Rabiu, challenged those circulating the reports to provide names and details of the alleged victims, insisting there was no record of such abductions.
Following the police denial, Christian Solidarity Worldwide–Nigeria, a human rights group, said the abductions indeed took place and alleged that security operatives obstructed efforts to independently verify the incident.
On Tuesday, the Nigeria Police Force confirmed the abduction.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said tactical and intelligence assets had been deployed to rescue the victims.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the PDP spokesperson, Ini Ememobong, said the federal government’s silence and what he described as the outright denial by the Kaduna police command and the Kajuru Local Government Area chairman showed a dangerous and recurring pattern.
Ememobong said the denial was part of what he described as the normalisation of insecurity under the present administration and a deliberate attempt to hide the truth from the public.
“These denials are deeply hurtful, not only because they are evidently false, but because they reveal the manifest levity with which this administration treats serious matters like security,” the statement said.
He added that villagers said the police were immediately alerted when the abductions occurred.
According to him, the police had the opportunity to act but chose denial instead, placing the government’s image above the lives of 163 Nigerians.
“This act of public betrayal and failed cover-up is most shameful and condemnable,” Ememobong said.
He called on the Kaduna State Police Command and the Kajuru Local Government Area chairman to apologise to Nigerians for the denial.
The PDP spokesperson also urged the federal government to immediately deploy a high-powered security team to track down the abductors and ensure the safe return of the victims to their families.
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