‘Let the poor breathe,’ NASFAT urges urgent action to find Oyo’s missing children

Abdullateef Fowewe

The Nasrul-Lahi-il-Fatih Society(NASFAT) has marked Children’s Day by drawing attention to the growing crisis of missing children across Nigeria and calling for immediate government action.

The statement, signed by NASFAT President Alhaji Ayodeji Abdulrauf, described the occasion as a “Missing Children’s Day,” mourning children who “have gone missing and not yet come home—each one a cherished soul and a profound loss felt by families across Nigeria.”

It specifically referenced the recent kidnappings of schoolchildren, teachers and a principal in Oyo State as part of a broader pattern of abductions.

NASFAT blamed successive civilian administrations’ border policies for contributing to large-scale child disappearances, saying those policies “had resulted in hundreds of thousands of children lost or placed with unvetted sponsors” and calling the practice “a betrayal of the most innocent among us.”

The group urged the current government to act “with unwavering resolve to reverse this injustice and bring each of these children home.”

The faith group demanded a nationwide, coordinated response, calling on the Federal Government to launch “an unprecedented initiative with State and local governments to find the thousands of missing children and safely return them to their home states.”

NASFAT also urged tighter border controls, better-equipped security forces, and aggressive action to dismantle human-smuggling networks.

“Enough is enough! Let the poor breathe, for Allah’s sake,” the statement said, calling for security personnel to be deployed to vulnerable locations and for those who “place children in harm’s way” to “face the full weight of the nation’s justice.”

NASFAT pledged ongoing support for affected families and vowed to continue advocacy and prayers until missing children are returned.

The president closed by calling for strengthened law enforcement and security infrastructure to reduce kidnappings “to historic lows or zero — a reality that keeps Nigerian families and their children safe from harm.”

“We will never stop praying for their return. NASFAT will continue to advocate and leave no stone unturned until Nigerian’s children are safe, protected, and free,” he added.