Tension In Schools As Terrorists Kidnap Over 800 In One Week, Claiming Scores Of Lives

School safety is once again a pressing concern as audacious attacks by terrorists sweep across Northern Nigeria. According to reports from DAILY POST, from Wednesday, March 6 to Monday, March 11, over 800 individuals, mostly schoolchildren, fell victim to brazen kidnappings by daring terrorists in the region……READ ALSO Nigerian Army Neutralizes Four Terrorists In Kaduna, Katsina, Foils Kidnapping Attempt In Plateau

Amnesty International (AI) disclosed that Boko Haram militants abducted more than 400 people, including women and children, in Borno State on Tuesday of last week. The victims, predominantly women and children displaced from their homes by terrorist violence in the Northeast, were reportedly seized while seeking firewood outside Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in the Gamboru Ngala council area.

The heinous spree continued as over 280 pupils and educators from Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School in Kuriga, Kaduna State, were abducted by bandits on March 8, prompting nationwide outrage. The assailants, displaying a callous disregard for human life, stormed the Kuriga area of the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, indiscriminately firing at their victims before forcibly taking away the students and staff.

In another assault, terrorists targeted the Buda community in Kajuru Local Government Area, also in Kaduna State, abducting more than 61 individuals and leaving at least four dead.

Further atrocities unfolded as armed men invaded a boarding school in Gidan Bakuso village, Gada council area of Sokoto State, on March 9, kidnapping approximately 15 children from their beds as they slept.

Additionally, the same week saw a harrowing escalation of violence in Benue State, where over 50 individuals, including an entire family of seven, were brutally killed in an attack on Gbagir community in the Ukum Local Government Area. Another 16 people lost their lives during an assault on Wa-ndoo, a community in Mbalom, Gwer-East Local Government Area of Benue State, on March 8.

The spate of attacks has reignited fear and anxiety among parents and educators, particularly in the Northern region. Rumors of impending attacks on schools, particularly in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, have left parents deeply concerned for the safety of their children.

In response to mounting apprehension, some schools have adjusted their academic calendars to facilitate early examinations and Easter holidays for students.

One concerned parent, Mrs. Maria Adakwu, voiced her anxieties, urging government and security agencies to bolster security measures in schools across Abuja. Mrs. Adakwu emphasized the need for proactive measures to safeguard children, citing the traumatic attack on the Federal Government College, FGC, Kwali in Sheda village in February 2022 as a stark reminder of the potential threats faced by educational institutions.

In reassurance, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, sought to allay fears, affirming the safety of schools within the FCT and dismissing concerns of imminent attacks.

However, reports have emerged of parents in Kaduna State withdrawing their children from public schools in the wake of the recent abductions. Although state authorities have received offers of assistance from international allies to secure the release of the kidnapped students and teachers, the Federal Government has adamantly refused to negotiate ransom payments.

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