The Mercy Helpline Initiative (MHI) stands today in profound grief and moral outrage as we mark 102 agonizing days since the abduction of innocent students from Mussa Community, Borno State. On May 15, 2026, armed men stormed Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School, abducting 42 students, including toddlers as young as two years old. On June 29, 2026, another 36 students were torn from their classrooms at Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, while writing their NECO examinations, along with teachers who were abducted or killed defending them.
Today, these children remain in captivity—unseen, unheard, and seemingly forgotten.
This is not just a security failure. This is a betrayal of our shared humanity.
The right to safety, to protection, to life itself—these are not privileges. They are the fundamental birthrights of every Nigerian child. Yet, for 102 days, these children have been stripped of their dignity, their freedom, and their childhood. They are subjected to unspeakable conditions—starvation, torture, and the constant shadow of death—while their families wait in agonizing silence.
102 days without rescue is a declaration that some lives matter less than others.
MHI is bitterly saddened by the glaring disparity in government response. The Oyo State victims were rescued and returned home after 55 days. Yet, the Borno children remain abandoned after 102 days. This inequality is unacceptable. A child in Oyo is not more valuable than a child in Borno. A teacher in the South-West is not more deserving of protection than a teacher in the North-East. Every Nigerian citizen deserves equal protection under the law and equal urgency from those entrusted with their safety.
The families of these children have been abandoned in their darkest hour. They have been left with no information, no hope, and no answers. Amnesty International has raised the alarm that abduction victims in this pattern of attacks are at high risk of torture, starvation, amputation, rape, and forced witness to atrocities. This is the brutal reality of captivity—and we have allowed it to continue for 102 days.
To the families of the abducted children: MHI sees you. MHI hears you. MHI stands with you. Your children are not forgotten. Their faces are etched in our hearts. Their cries echo in our conscience. We will not rest until they are brought home.
To the Government of Nigeria: Silence is complicity. Inaction is abandonment. The consistent failure to ensure the security and safety of citizens constitutes a serious breach of human rights obligations under the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. This failure must end now.
We demand:
Immediate and intensified rescue operations—deploy all necessary resources, intelligence assets, and special forces to secure the freedom of every abducted child and teacher
Transparent communication—end the silence. Provide regular updates to the families who have waited 102 days for answers
Accountability—bring the perpetrators and their sponsors to justice
Protection—secure our schools and communities so no child ever suffers this fate again
Equality—ensure that every Nigerian child, regardless of geography, receives equal protection and urgency
Every life matters. Every child deserves safety. Every family deserves closure. The dignity of humanity demands nothing less.
Signed
Samuel Solomon
Executive Director
Mercy Helpline Initiative (MHI)
For media inquiries, please contact:
Mercy Helpline Initiative (MHI)
📞 +234 806 127 3237
📧 mercyhelplineinitiative@gmail.com
#102DaysOfAbandonment #BringBackBornoChildren #EveryLifeMatters #DignityOfHumanity #MHI #GiveRelevanceToLife #Nigeria
