The Senate has condemned in strong terms the abduction of 87 students and teachers in Borno and Oyo states within 24 hours, despite the $30 million raised globally in 2014 to secure public and private schools across Nigeria.
The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, APC, Ekiti Central, said the incidents underscored the need to expedite the establishment of state police, currently under consideration at the National Assembly.
Bamidele, who is also Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, made this known in a statement issued by his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs on Sunday. He called for coordinated and strategic measures to ensure the safety of schools nationwide and address the rising out-of-school children crisis.
Suspected gunmen abducted 45 students and teachers from Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Community Grammar School and L.A Primary School in Esiele, in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State on Friday.
Similarly, within the same period, Boko Haram terrorists attacked Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, abducting 42 students.
In the statement, Bamidele described the incidents as an attack on the future of Nigeria, pledging to fast-track the creation of state police to complement the country’s current security architecture.
According to him, the 10th National Assembly is nearing completion of the process of amending the 1999 Constitution to pave the way for the establishment of state police.
He explained that once the National Assembly concludes its work, the proposal would be transmitted to state Houses of Assembly for consideration, requiring approval by two-thirds of them before implementation.
Bamidele urged sub-national governments and legislatures to treat the state police proposal as a matter of national importance, devoid of partisan or ethno-religious considerations
Pending the establishment of state police, he called on both federal and state governments to fully implement the Safe School Initiative as an interim measure to address the growing number of out-of-school children, currently estimated at 18.3 million.
He said the recurring abductions of students and teachers “is a tragic national concern that negates our development indices. We cannot and must not allow it to continue. At the National Assembly, we will rise against this trend and put an end to it through legislation.”
Bamidele added that upon resumption of plenary on June 2, the National Assembly would finalise outstanding legislative measures aimed at tackling insecurity, including the ongoing constitutional review and amendments to the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
