60 days in captivity: MHI demands urgent action for Borno abducted students

The Mercy Helpline Initiative (MHI) marks today with deep concern as the abducted students of Mussa Community, Borno State, spend 60 agonizing days in captivity.

Executive Director, Mercy Helpline Initiative (MHI), Samuel Solomon says while the initiative celebrate the release of the Oyo schoolchildren, our hearts remain heavy for the 42 students of Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary Schools, including a one-and-a-half-year-old child, who remain in captivity since May 15, 2026.

Every day deepens their trauma, steals their childhood, and leaves their families in anguish.

MHI calls on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Borno State Government to fast-track rescue operations with renewed urgency, prioritize the safe and unconditional release of all students, provide transparent updates to families and the public, deploy all necessary resources including intelligence assets and special forces, and ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.

The Oyo release demonstrates that coordinated government action works. We commend the Federal and Oyo Governments for securing their freedom. However, the Oyo children are home, but the Borno children are not. No child should be left behind. Every life matters.

We cannot accept a reality where children are taken from schools with impunity. Our children deserve to learn in safety, dream without fear, and grow with dignity. An attack on education is an attack on Nigeria’s future. These children are not statistics—they are children with names, families, and dreams. They deserve to come home.