…as governors pay solidarity after students’ abduction
No fewer than seven schools in Kebbi State have been shut down indefinitely in the aftermath of the attack on Federal Government College (FGC), Birnin Yauri, by suspected bandits.
This was confirmed by Alhaji Isah Arzika, State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT).
Arzika told newsmen on Saturday that those affected were schools located on the frontlines of the areas prone to attacks by suspected bandits.
He said that the government had directed all school principals to close any school which they believed were not safe, adding that police and vigilantes had also been deployed to the schools for monitoring and protection.
“On these proactive measures, as you all know, we are part of the system. Because Principals are teachers, all the Directors at the Board are also teachers. It is the decision that we all took that is affecting us.
“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.”
The NUT chairman assured that they had already closed those frontline schools, describing such a move as a proactive measure to guard against a recurrence of the incident similar to that of FGC Yauri.
“I am not talking about only boarding schools, any school that is on the frontline and it is not safe, we would just ask the students to pack and go home, pending the time the situation normalises
“Before now, the state government had recruited large number of vigilante members to look over our schools and we are very much satisfied with what the government has done.
“Some of these schools that I am talking about have policemen attached to them, honestly, we are satisfied with government actions”, he said.
Meanwhile, Governor of Ekiti State and Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Chairman, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has led an NGF delegation on a solidarity visit to the Governor of Kebbi State, H.E Atiku Abubakar.
The visit was to commiserate with him over the kidnapping at the Federal Government College, Yauri, Kebbi State on Thursday.
While commending the efforts of the security operatives in rescuing some of the abducted students and teachers, Governor Fayemi urged the public to remain calm.
He also urged the joint task force to intensify efforts to rescue the remaining abductees still in captivity.
Governor Fayemi also reaffirmed the commitment of the governors’ forum to engage critical stakeholders at all levels to find a lasting solution to the security challenges confronting the country.
