Parents and students across the country now live in fear following security challenges of targeted attacks on schools by terrorists, bandits and other criminal groups.
As hostage taking in the nation’s schools resonate from one part of the country to the other, LEADERSHIP Weekend checks showed that pre-dispositional factors contributing to the attacks targeted at schools are linked to the emergence of domestic terrorism in the country.
Cowering in fear of impending attacks by terror groups, bandits and kidnappers, parents and stakeholders in the nation’s education sector said the security lapses manifesting on a daily basis in schools in the country require urgent attention.
It was gathered that despite frequent abduction of school children, most schools in different parts of the country remain with inadequate security to protect school children.
The latest in the series of school attacks was the abduction of dozens of students and three teachers, including 12 members of their families in Government Science Secondary School Kagara, Niger State by armed bandits.
Some schoolboys in Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State had earlier been kidnaped, compelling the Inspector-general of police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, to order immediate review and strengthening of security arrangements around educational institutions in the country.
But investigations by our correspondents across the states showed that the IGP’s directive has not been implemented as most schools lack security protection, thereby putting school children at risk.
Despite the cases of incessant kidnapping in schools across Nigeria, LEADERSHIP Weekend observed that only very few schools in Sokoto metropolis are secured by Police, while others engage the services of private guards, even as many of the schools don’t have security at all.
It was also observed that while the majority of the schools within the metropolis have perimeter fences, they are certainly not a guarantee of safety for the pupils and students as most of the fences are either bad or partially broken.
In schools like Nana Girls, Government Girls, Federal Government College, Sultan Atiku, Sultan Bello and Yahaha Gusau, all within the metropolis which are state or federal government owned, it was discovered that some had policemen securing them unlike many others engaging the services of private security guards.
The situation is not different for most of the privately-owned schools visited.
For instance, CEFN Divine Schools, Evergreen College and High Profile Academy among others use the services of private guards.
A police personnel in one of the schools said the schools have to make requests before they are deployed to protect them.
The officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said apart from the fact that most private schools cannot afford the services of police officers, the number of police personnel is relatively too small to be distributed to all the schools when there are other security challenges across the state.
In the schools visited in Akwa Ibom State by our correspondent, policemen were not deployed to protect students.
The school authorities employed the services of local vigilantes to protect the students and schools facilities.
But the state police public relation officer, Mac Don, a deputy Superintendent of Police said police in the state have put adequate security measures in place to check such menace.
He added that although the state has not recorded any case of kidnapping of school pupils, school authorities and principals of secondary schools are advised to be vigilant and report any strange faces within their school premises to security agents.
However, a visit by LEADERSHIP Weekend to some schools in Uyo showed that schools authorities have put in place adequate measure to protect their students against intruders
Among such measures include prevention of students from leaving the school premises until closing time.
In virtually all the schools visited students were not permitted to roam the streets; any student found outside during school hours are arrested by the special monitoring team put in place by the state government.
In Katsina State, most of the schools with fences are in the major cities even though there is no adequate security presence, but gatemen were seen around the school gates.
When our correspondent visited Danmarna Primary School and Ambutai Primary School in Katsina, pupils were seen moving out of the school even as there were no security personnel deployed to the school.
However, a lot of the schools in the rural areas are not fenced or provided adequate security.
In Anambra State, the government has embarked on aggressive construction of perimeter fences in post-primary schools that have boarding facilities as pro-active security measures in view of the wave of abduction of students in boarding schools by hoodlums in the parts of North of the country.
The spokesman of the Anambra State Police Command, Mohammed Haruna, told LEADERSHIP Weekend that the command has initiated measures to strengthen security around secondary schools across the state in compliance with the directive of the Force headquarters to that effect.
The state Commissioner for Basic Education, Professor Kate Omenugha also said the state government in the aftermath of the Chibok Girls’ abduction introduced “Safe Schools Initiative” which, according to her, is to provide perimeter fences in all public boarding schools.
She stated that the first phase of the implementation of the initiative saw the fencing of ten girls’ secondary schools that have boarding facilities across the state, followed by fencing of about 41 technical secondary schools in the state.
“We initiated the Safe Schools Initiative” long ago, in the aftermath of the abduction of the Chibok Girls to provide fencing facilities in our public Secondary schools that have boarding”.
“We started it by fencing ten Girls’ Secondary schools, for instance Awka- Etiti Girls, Uga Girls, Anglican Girls Secondary School, Onitsha, Ogidi Girls, Catholic Girls Ozubulu, Umuchu, Umunze, etc.”, she stated.
On plans by the state police command to ensure proper security at public secondary schools that have boarding facilities in, Haruna said, “There is a directive to that effect, and, the Command is complying with that directive”.
Meanwhile, when our correspondent visited some public schools, including, Girls’ Secondary School, Awka, St. John Girls’ Secondary School and Federal Government Science and Technical College, also located in Awka, the Anambra State capital, it was noticed that they had new perimeter fencing constructed around them.
There was however no presence of any police personnel in any of the schools, though the school’s private security personnel were at the security posts at the entry gate of each of the schools.
Visitors were being thoroughly checked to ascertain the purpose of their visit by the security personnel at the gate before they were allowed entry into the school.
In Ilorin, Kwara State, most public schools visited by our correspondent have no adequate provision of security for both the students and teachers as the school gates are manned by private guards employed by the school managements.
Some of the schools visited by our correspondent, such as Government Secondary School, Ilorin, Mount Carmel College, Ilorin, Ansarul Islam Secondary School, Ilorin, Ilorin Grammar School, Sheikh AbdulKadir College and St Anthony College are well fenced and with the provision of entrance gates.
In Taraba State however, a survey on the security level of secondary schools in the state capital, Jalingo, showed that most of the schools were fenced and there have not been any threats on the students’ lives.
When our correspondent visited Salihu Dogo Secondary School, Government Day Secondary School Nukkai, Huwai Secondary School, Gbadi Secondary School, Government Science College, Gov’t College Jalingo, Government Technical Training School, Sabon Gari Secondary School, Mayo Dasa Secondary School, And Federal Government Girls College, it was observed that all the schools were fenced except Government Day Secondary School Nukkai.
But the police public relations officer, ASP Reha Reform, said for now there is no order to protect students because they are threatened by any terrorist groups.
(Leadership NG)
