The Education Rights Campaign, Lagos State chapter, says the continuous stay of six Pupils of the Lagos State Model College, Igbonla, Epe, with kidnappers is condemnable.

The ERC, which expressed sympathy for the families of the victims, demanded immediate rescue of the six pupils.

A statement on Tuesday by the state Coordinator of the ERC, Nurudeen Omomeewa, urged the police and other Security Agencies to stop giving assurances and start showing results.

“That the six kidnapped pupils have stayed for over a month in kidnappers’ den is clear evidence that the police and other security agencies have failed in the discharge of their responsibilities,” the statement added.

The body called on the Lagos State Government to do everything possible to rescue the children, saying excuses were unacceptable.

“The only result we want to see is the rescue of the six pupils and their safe return to the arms of their families. We will like to remind the state government that one of its major responsibilities as enshrined in the constitution is the safety of lives of the citizens. If those six pupils were to be children of politicians and highly-placed individuals in the society, we are sure that the state government would have been more proactive in seeking their release.

“The continuous stay of the children in kidnappers’ den is a stain on the state government and its capacity to guarantee the safety of citizens,” the ERC said.

It called for a solution to the problem of kidnapping, adding that the crime and others were direct consequences of youth unemployment, lack of opportunities and poverty.

“In Lagos in particular, the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led All Progressives Congress government’s anti-poor policies of rendering people jobless and homeless through seizure of commercial motorcycles, confiscation of wares of petty traders and arbitrary demolition of poor people’s homes to pave the way for developers are the reasons that kidnapping and other social vices are on the rise.

“Unless these anti-poor policies of the government are immediately reversed and replaced with pro-people policies that create jobs and ensure that the poor and the vulnerable are taken care of, it will not be possible to curb the menace of kidnapping and other social vices,” the ERC said.