Failure of safe school

Parents and guardians  usually have emotional attachment to their children at all level of education.  However the safety of these students automatically becomes the responsibility of the school authority on the one hand, while the  arm of government empowered to provide absolute security is the police being the institution constitutionally ,mandated to provide security for every citizen of Nigeria without any discrimination based on ethnic, religious or political affiliation.

In other developed countries, the administration in the Police  creates a full operation department for educational institutions aptly referred to as safe school  department” such security department handles all cases boardering students,  because the personels are well trained on how to protect students at every level of education, such department also handles cases of bullying in school,  councelling of students and providing protection. Unfortunately,  such department is omitted from the structure of the Nigeria Police.  The omission of  such department is the fruit of insecurity and highly organized kidnapping cases being experienced in most educational institutions across the northern part of the country. The first of such kidnap  jolted the country when

On the night of 14–15 April 2014,  the Islamic terrorist group, known as Boko Haram had stormed  the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State, and forcefully abducted 303 female students (mostly Christians) aged  between 16 and 18 years, and till date some of them are still not accounted for while some have died many others were  fortunate to gain their freedom.  The Chibok kidnap  elicited  public rage and official government statement  wherein the then lnspector General of Police Mr Ogbonnaya Onovo was directed to provide security protection for every boarding school in the north, regrettably, this directive was jettition like a used tissue paper and thrown into the  dustbin of history. It was a political statement for so it seemed.  Years later, some known and  unknowed gunmen constituted themselves into a formidable gang of  bandits, harassing and kidnapping  innocent students,  demanding for  huge ransom. Despite the Chibok experience, the floodgate for kidnapping  became the only fast money making venture. With the lakaidasical attitude of security, the kidnappers saw a loose country with no seriousness, so a repeat of the Chibok operation was again carried out on February 19, 2018 when 110 female students of Government Girls Science Technical College (GGSTC) in Dapchi were kidnapped. Meanwhile all the girls  had been freed except Leah Sharibu, a Christian who is yet to regain her freedom.

Across the globe, the spate of kidnapping would have necessitated a lot of security activity whereby permanent solution would have been  thought out. Not so in Nigeria where  fire brigade approach is usually the requisite answer  to every calamity or frequent criminality.  If for no other reason, the government ought to have directed all the security agencies on the need to find lasting solution to these spate of kidnapping in schools. 

Since 2019, the reverberating occurrence of kidnapping has overwhelmed security agencies who have no clue to the kidnapping saga.  It is a known characteristic  of terrorists like the Nigerian bandits to kidnap their victims either for political reason , or  to exchange for very huge ransom, or use the victim to effectively convey  home their  point. Even at that, let us use one of the kidnap scenario in Kangara  local government, Katsina State, for security analysis.

the gunmen. According to media report, on the evening of December 11, 2020 , armed bandits stormed  the Government Science Secondary School  in  Kankara, Katsina State and kidnapped  302 students, and using motor cycles to convey them into the Kangara forest  that shares boarder with Zamfara State.  First, it sounds like tale from moonlight, to hear that male students could not resist some of the unarmed bandits and all the students like zombies climb their motorcycle and none of the boys raised alarm as the convoy of motorcycle moved through the road leading into the forest. It is surprising to know that there is a Divisional police station in the local government few kilometers from both the Local government and the school.

Also, being a Muslim prayer day (jumat) it is expected that the DPO ought to place his men on alert on such a day. That the hammer of the lnspector General of police missed the head of the DPO  speaks volume. That such movement took place without his knowledge and

With no information from any patriotic member of the public, shows that the people have no regard for the police in Kangara LGA. If the police is truely their friend, definitely, some of them would have notified the police. More important is the poor security management in the school. From the security gate, that is manned by untrained local security guards instead of affording the services of well trained armed licensed security  guard.  As a  male school, is it not to their benefit, if  physical education is included in their school curriculum  where martial arts is taught. More so, the question arises why modern technology in securing educational institution are lacking. What would it cost the school authority to install a remote controlled alarm system that is connected to the nearest police station? Furthermore, is the school authority not aware of “watch post” which is an erected tall post, that enables the guard to watch and have a better view of any approaching object with the help of a binoculars.

However these are some recorded kidnap incidents: On December 19, 2020,  armed  bandits kidnapped 80 Islamic school students in Dandume, Katsina State.

February 17, 2021, armed bandits  kidnapped 41 students of Government Science College Kagara, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.

February 26, 2021: 317 Female students  of  Government Girls Science Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara State Zamfara State

March 11, 2021, armed bandits kidnapped 39 students of College of Forestry, Afaka, Kaduna State and also kidnapped 180 staff and students the next day.

On April 5, 2021,  armed bandits kidnapped 39 students. Kaduna State announced that five of the 39 people abducted from the April 20, 2021: Greenfield University Kidnap

April 20, 2021, armed bandits  kidnapped  20 students of Greenfield University  at Chikun LGA, Kaduna State and two members of staff.

May 30, 2021: Niger Muslim school kidnap

On May 30, 2021, an armed  bandits kidnapped dozens of students from an Islamic school in Niger State.

They also kidnapped 100 children later sent back those they considered too small for them.

Thursday, June 17, when a mass of heavily armed bandits struck at Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri LGA, Kebbi State.

In August 2021, armed bandits attacked the Nigerian Defence Acedemy killing two officer and kidnapping one officer.

Also five lecturers of the University of Abuja were kidnapped from their quarters. Painfully, while many of those kidnapped have been released, scores are still in captivity, yet the government cannot mobilize and deploy security personels to flush out these bandits and rescue the remaining victims, but could deploy over 50,000 security personels to Anambra State to provide security for the gubernatorial election, while our education is bleeding and  system is falling apart.

The post Failure of safe school appeared first on The Sun Nigeria.