ABOUT seven schools have been shut down in Kebbi State following the recent abduction of more than 50 students from the Federal Government College, Yauri.
Chairman of the state chapter of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) Isah Arzika disclosed this in Kebbi on Monday.
Arzika explained that the government had told the union to close schools located close to forests and areas prone to attacks by bandits or terrorists.
“Government has given us an order and option to take any necessary action as far as our schools are concerned that we can close those schools which we think are not safe and prone to attacks in the areas close to the forest.
“I am not talking about only boarding schools, any school that is on the frontline areas and not safe, we would just ask the students to pack and go home, pending the time the situation normalises,” Arzika said.
He noted that seven schools had been closed so far while more could still be closed if the situation persists.
Arzika further stated that the terrorists who abducted students and teachers from the Federal Government College, Yauri, have contacted the parents of the victims.
However, he said the terrorists did not demand ransom from the parents.
“They collected the contacts of parents and teachers from the abductees and thereafter made calls to tell them that their children and people were with them but none of them asked for a kobo, they only said they wanted to establish contact that the abductees are in their custody,” he noted.
The ICIR had reported that more than 50 students were abducted from the FGC on Thursday following an attack by terrorists in the state.
Reacting to the development, Senate President Ahmad Lawan had expressed concerns that the increasing number of attacks on schools in the northern part of the country was undermining education in the region.
“In northern Nigeria, education has always been a problem. It is getting worse with this kind of abduction of students either in Islamiya schools or normal secondary schools or even in tertiary institutions as it happened in Afaka in Kaduna State.
“I believe we should continue to fight this insurgency and banditry for our country to make progress,” Lawan said.
In 2021, Zamfara, Katsina and Yobe states had to shut down schools following the kidnapping of students.
At least 130 students are still being held in a terrorist’s den following an attack on Tanko Salihu Islamiyya School, Tegina, Niger State.
According to a statement by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), pupils as young as three were kidnapped during the attack.
Although President Muhammadu Buhari had on many occasions said his administration was committed to ending insurgency and other criminal activities in the country, the security situation in the country has continued to get worse by the day.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94