The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the Northern Region and the Federal Capital Territory, Rev. John Hayab, has revealed that a parent died from a heart attack after his three children were abducted during an attack on St Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE News on Tuesday, Hayab described the severe emotional toll faced by families whose children were kidnapped across Kebbi, Kwara, and Niger states in the past week. He said the deceased parent, identified only as Mr Anthony, was overwhelmed by the shock and trauma of losing his children.
“People want to see concrete action. Imagine a mother or a father whose daughter… one of the parents (Mr Anthony) of these girls picked in the school, died yesterday of a heart attack because three of his children are victims,” Hayab said.
Although PUNCH Online has not independently verified the specific claim of the heart attack, Hayab stressed that the pain felt by the families is real and still “very fresh”. According to him, many parents are too frightened to even speak publicly about their ordeal.
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He explained that parents of the abducted children in Niger State have become increasingly desperate.
Speaking during a meeting with church leaders in Kontagora, he said, “It was an unfortunate thing. You can imagine a man in shock because three children… he would not know what to explain, what is happening to them.”
Hayab noted that the abducted children are enduring harsh conditions. “These children have not slept, they have not bathed, and their parents cannot even explain where they are,” he lamented.
He also criticised the absence of visible security presence in affected communities, insisting that Nigerians no longer want official statements but tangible action.
“The onus is now on the Nigerian security agencies to ensure that we don’t speak about this on television. People want to see concrete action,” he said.
The CAN leader further revealed that while 50 senior students managed to flee into the bush and later returned home, more than 265 students, mostly aged nine to fourteen, remain unaccounted for. On 23 November, the Niger State CAN Chairman confirmed that 50 abducted pupils had reportedly escaped from their captors.
Hayab welcomed the release of 24 schoolgirls kidnapped in Kebbi State but warned that the events of the past week have exposed “longstanding failures” in Nigeria’s security architecture. His comments came shortly after President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed the girls’ release in a statement on Tuesday.
“Everybody is worried, everybody is angry… It has been a traumatic week for parents, for leaders, and for our security men,” Hayab said.
Despite the worsening crisis, he maintained that Nigeria has enough workforce to defeat terrorists, but resources are poorly deployed. He criticised the large number of security officers attached to VIPs and banks rather than communities at risk.
“When proper deployment is done, we will be able to get rid of these things. We have what it takes, but we are not deploying it,” he insisted.
