Nigeria, June 9 -- The Criterion, Al-Furqaan, a group of Muslim women in business and professions, has condemned Nigeria's worsening security situation and called for urgent government action to secure the release of abducted pupils and teachers in Oyo State.

In a statement signed by its International Ameerah, Shakirat Shekoni, on Sunday, the group expressed solidarity with the affected families and described the prolonged captivity of the victims as unacceptable.

"As mothers, professionals and women of faith, we feel the agonising pain of parents whose children have been forcefully taken, and we demand immediate, decisive action to ensure their safe return," the statement read.

In the early hours of May 15, armed men riding motorcycle...