Parents of the 37  released students of Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Kaduna State, have demanded compensation from the Federal Government for the ordeal their children passed through in the den of kidnappers.

Although they did not state how much they needed from the government, they said the compensation would help them treat the abnormal psychological behaviour being exhibited by the children.

The parents under the aegis of Forum of the Afaka Students’ Parents, however,  threatened to sue the Ministry of Environment and the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), which supervise the college, if their request is not granted.

Thirty-nine students were abducted when bandits invaded  their College close to Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) on the night of  March 11, 2021.

Two of the students escaped while they were being whisked into the forest. Ten of them  were released in two batches of five  on  April 5 and 7   while the remaining 27 regained freedom on  May 5.

In  a statement yesterday  by the forum chairman, Abdullahi Usman, the parents alleged that  the  ministry   and FRIN   never carried out any medical check on the freed students. 

The statement partly reads: “The release of the 27 on 5th May, following unquantifiable efforts by their parents, who suffered excruciating hardships and trauma, resulting in the death of a parent, was greeted with global applause and cheers.

“The release of the students ignited hopes that they would immediately be made to go through the very necessary medical check up to ensure their soundness of health, especially to heal them of all terror-inflicted trauma that could negatively affect their normal living.

“The parents of the students had expected the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) to immediately set a process in motion for such necessary checkup and compensation to assuage all negative effects of terror they and the children severely suffered.

“However, one month after their  release, most of the students have been exhibiting some abnormal psychological behaviours due to lack proper medical checkup and trauma counselling necessary for their rehabilitation.

“We, the parents, have received no inkling of hope from the Ministry or institute for any compensation over the psychological damage inflicted on the children during their 56 day encounter with kidnappers.

“We wish to stress that consequent upon the foregoing, most of the children have not been living their normal lives since their release by the abductors. Yet, the Ministry and the Institute seem insensitive to their plight and indifferent to their trauma.

“Accordingly, we, parents of the released students, hereby categorically demand immediate compensation from the ministry and the institute to enable us treat them of their trauma.

“We are resolute in our resolve to bark and bite in our pursuit of compensation for our children, whose abduction was for no fault of their own, from whatever authority responsible for such compensation.

“We will go to every extent, using every legal instrument available to us, bona fide and law-abiding citizens of this country, to get what we believe our children deserve to facilitate their return to normal life.

“We now deem it legitimately and legally fit to demand what we believe should be given to us for the proper rehabilitation of our children.”