GOVERNOR Nasir Idris of Kebbi State has called on the military to change the tactics used in tackling insecurity.
News Point Nigeria reports that the governor made the call when he received Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, at the Government House, Birnin-Kebbi, on Monday.
The governor also restated his call for the probe of the withdrawal of military personnel deployed to the Government Comprehensive Girls Secondary School, Maga, minutes before bandits dozen of schoolgirls.
“How can over 500 bandits be moving on bikes on our highways without being checked? We are doing our obligations to the security agencies. We provide them with logistics, bought over 100 vehicles for them but their security architecture is not working.
“If we knew they would leave our girls for the bandits to take away, we wouldn’t have listened to the advice they gave us to deploy security personnel. We would have just shut down the school.
“I think some enemies are working to truncate this government and federal government; and the House must do something, especially about the lingering security situation in the country.
“Yesterday, it was Kebbi, today it is Niger and Kwara; who knows who is next? We must all see to it that this insecurity must be addressed.”
Earlier, Speaker Tajudeen said he and the delegates from the House were in Kebbi to commiserate with its people over the abduction of the schoolgirls and killing of the institution’s head of security.
The Speaker also donated N30 million to the families of the head of security in the school and others.
He said, “We are with you and we will continue to find how to secure the girls.”
Meanwhile, Amnesty International Nigeria has issued a warning over the upsurge in kidnappings of schoolchildren across Northern Nigeria, saying it is undermining the foundation of education in the region.
According to Isa Sanusi, Country Director at Amnesty International Nigeria, the impact of these abductions, both the trauma of being taken and the pervasive fear they sow is driving many children away from schools.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Sanusi observed that rising insecurity is forcing parents to reconsider sending their children to school.
“The trauma that comes with being abducted, or with the fear of being abducted, is going to prevent thousands of children from getting an education completely,” he said.
He explained that in many rural areas, families already face economic hardship and make sacrifices so that their children can attend school.
“Now, with the increasing threat of violence, “education suffers even more setbacks, especially in Northern Nigeria. People will be scared of going to school, and parents will be more sceptical about allowing their children to attend.”
Sanusi expressed concern that this wave of violence could strip an entire generation of its right to learn.
“When added to the more than 12 million children already out of school, the future looks grim and dangerous,” he warned.
There has been an upsurge in attacks on schools as aside the kidnapping of dozens of schoolgirls in Kebbi State, gunmen also abducted students and teachers from St. Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger State.
After a verification exercise and census, church authorities reported that the total number taken is 315, including 303 pupils and 12 teachers. So far, 50 students have been recovered.