Exactly 150 days after their children were seized by terrorists, parents of 78 abducted schoolchildren in Borno State have postponed a planned protest at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The postponement was forced by crippling poverty, lack of transport fares, and the struggle to leave food for remaining dependants.
The children were abducted in two separate attacks in Askira-Uba Local Government Area. Forty-two school pupils were taken in Mussa on 15 May 2026. Thirty-six college students were seized in Lassa on 29 June 2026. The parents issued a six-day ultimatum to the Federal Government between 21 and 27 September. The deadline elapsed without any official communication. President Bola Tinubu travelled out of the country during the period, making a trip to the capital impractical.
Ishaku Suya, chairman of the Abducted Children’s Parents Association, explained the postponement. “We must plan it very well. We need to have enough resources to settle our families back home and cover the expenses we will incur in Abuja, because we are not coming back until the President talks to us,” he said. Many families are trying to harvest crops to raise funds. “We must keep food here, pay transport fare, and provide upkeep money while staying there, because no one knows how long we will stay.”
Suya described the toll on the mothers. Many have stopped eating and abandoned their farms. “They are always crying, and they don’t eat food. They need us very close to them”. He appealed to the media and citizens. “Our children are everyone’s children. I want you to feel the excruciating pain we are enduring.”
Some parents accused the government of double standards. Sale Buba noted that the Borno children were kidnapped the same day terrorists abducted over 40 students and teachers in Oyo State. The Oyo victims were freed after 56 days. The Borno children have spent nearly five months in captivity. “They know that our children are in the Damboa forest, but they refused to deploy tracking drones and top military brass to handle their rescue operation as they did in Oyo,” Buba said.
Winners: The terrorists, who face no pressure. No one else. Losers: The 78 abducted children, who remain in captivity. Their parents, who are too poor to protest. The Federal Government, which faces accusations of double standards. The military, whose rescue capacity is questioned. Nigerians, who see another failure.
Bottom Line: The parents wanted to protest. They could not afford it. Their children have been gone for 150 days. The government has not rescued them. The Oyo children were freed in 56 days. The Borno children remain in the forest. The difference is the government’s attention. The parents are too poor to demand it. The children pay the price.