When four staff of the university of Maiduguri were abducted by the Boko-Haram sect in July 2017, the statement credited to the Minister of state for Petroleum Dr Ibe Kachikwu was that the abduction was unfortunate but it won’t stop the search for oil in the Chad Basin which was the activity going on as at the time of the abduction.

These individuals are  lecturers from the Geology Department of the University of Maiduguri who had gone to collect soil samples for a soil test as it relates to the search for oil in that region but ended up being abducted by the sect in a bloody attack. The four abducted lecturers were the ‘lucky’ ones in an attack that claimed the lives of several dozen people.

These unfortunate event as Kachikwu promised back in July 2017 has not stopped the search for oil in the Chad Basin and other part of the North. The NNPC in recent times has committed a lot of energy to oil search in the region.

From Sokoto to Nassarawa, to Benue and other states in the region the NNPC has pre-occupied itself with nothing other than oil search.

While the NNPC is busy signing MOU’s they need to know the same energy being deployed to explore for oil needs to be deployed for the quick release of the kidnapped Unimaid Lecturers. These lecturers were working on an NNPC project before they were kidnapped by their abductors and they are yet to receive freedom or even a concerted effort to at least ensure that they being treated equitably by Boko Haram 115 days after.

The NNPC under the direction of Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and the federal government needs to know that lives are more important than oil. These individuals are asset to their families same way the oil is an asset to the Government. Therefore the same energy channeled towards the search for oil in the country should be replicated to seek their freedom.
Human lives matters.