LAGOS, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Nigeria's defence minister
prompted criticism on Thursday for urging Nigerians not to "be
cowards" and to stand up to armed bandits, while security forces
embarked on a mission to rescue 42 people kidnapped from a
boarding school this week.
The comments by Bashir Salihi Magashi, a retired army major,
came on Wednesday, hours after gunmen abducted dozens of people,
including 27 students, from the Government Science secondary
school in the Kagara district of north-central Niger
state. The Nigeria Police Force, in a statement on Thursday, said a
massive search and rescue mission was being carried out
alongside the military in which helicopters,
counter-intelligence unit forces and intelligence agents had
been deployed.
Niger state government officials have said they believe the
attack was carried out by "bandits" - the term used in Nigeria
to describe armed gangs who attack communities and kidnap for
ransom. A spate of attacks have been carried out by such groups
in the last year.
On Wednesday, speaking about such gangs in the wake of
Wednesday's attack, the defence minister told reporters: "We
shouldn't be cowards."
"I don't know why people are running away from minor, minor,
minor things like that," he said. "They should stand. Let these
people know that even the villagers have the competence and
capability to defend themselves."
The comments attracted widespread criticism.
"People cannot defend themselves with bare hands while
confronted with bandits are who are increasingly acquiring more
sophisticated weapons," said Isa Sanusi, a spokesman for rights
group Amnesty International.
He said Nigerian authorities had a duty to protect lives and
property and should not resort to "blaming the people".
Many expressed frustration on social media.
Kayode Ogundamisi, a commentator on Nigerian affairs with
nearly 600,000 Twitter followers, tweeted: "Simply put, he's
saying YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN!"
A spokesman for Magashi did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
In Kagara, where the school building stood empty on Thursday
following the early hours attack a day earlier, businessman
Ahmed Yakubu said gunmen were attacking communities that lack
protection from security forces.
"The security situation is so bad," he said.
"I see no reason why people will come on motorcycles... and
they will enter a village, carry out an operation successfully
and leave without any challenge."