THE National Assembly has challenged all tiers of government in Nigeria to ensure better protection of schools in the country.
It also called for sweeping reforms to the country’s security architecture, including the creation of state police, following growing protests over abduction of school pupils and teachers in Oyo and Borno states.
At the Senate, which resumed plenary on Tuesday after Sallah recess, members observed one-minute silence in honour of two teachers and a pupil killed during the attacks.
The outrage over kidnappings in schools dominated proceedings, with lawmakers condemning the attacks and demanding immediate rescue of the victims.
They warned that repeated assaults on schools threatened the nation’s future.
Addressing his colleagues, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, described the abductions as an assault on Nigeria’s collective humanity and a direct attack on the country’s future.
“We resume our work under the mournful shadow of a tragedy that has shaken our nation. The abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State is not merely an attack on innocent citizens; it is an assault on our collective humanity,” Akpabio said.
He lamented the deaths of teachers Michael Oyedokun and Adesiyan Adegboye, as well as a pupil killed during the incident, while expressing hope that security agencies would secure the release of those still in captivity.
Akpabio also urged politicians to avoid exploiting the tragedy for political gain, stressing that kidnappers and terrorists were targeting Nigerians regardless of political affiliation, ethnicity, or religion.
Similarly, at the House of Representatives, lawmakers called on the Federal Government and security agencies to immediately secure the release of the children and implement a comprehensive national safe schools security framework.
The resolution followed a motion sponsored by lawmaker Midala Balami, who warned that recurring attacks on schools were undermining public confidence and worsening access to education.
“The safety of our children and the protection of education must remain a national priority,” Balami said.
The House mandated its committees on National Security, Defence, Basic Education and Legislative Compliance to engage security agencies and report back on rescue efforts.
Lawmakers also renewed calls for decentralised policing as a solution to rising insecurity.
Leading a separate debate, Ayodeji Alao-Akala said communities in Ogbomoso and Oriire had come under sustained attacks from criminal groups operating in forests surrounding the Old Oyo National Park.
He described the killing of teacher Oyedokun in captivity as a barbaric act that demanded decisive government action and argued that state police would strengthen local intelligence gathering and improve response times.
The ICIR reports that between May 13 and May 15, at least 82 pupils were abducted in separate attacks in Oyo and Borno states. While 42 pupils were reportedly kidnapped in attacks on schools in Askira-Uba and Chibok Local Government Areas of Borno State, another 40 pupils were whisked away during coordinated attacks on schools in Oriire LGA of Oyo State.
The attacks, which are among numerous such incidents that have occurred in Nigeria in recent years. have revived memories of the Chibok and Dapchi schoolgirls kidnappings, raising fresh concerns about the safety of schools nationwide.
The ICIR reported that teachers, labour unions, civil society groups, and students staged coordinated protests across the country on Tuesday, demanding the immediate release of abducted pupils and teachers in Oyo and Borno states.
Demonstrations were held in the Federal Capital Territory, Edo, Rivers, Cross River, Benue, Adamawa, Taraba, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Abia, Osun, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Kano and several other states over the attacks.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.