Parents in the country have asked both Federal and Niger State government to without delay ensure the safe return of 27 students and some teachers of Government Science College, Kagara, in Niger State, who were abducted by gunmen in their school in the early hours of Wednesday.
National President of National Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, made this call on Thursday in an exclusive interview with Tribune Online.
Describing the incident as a very sad development, Danjuma said should government had listened to the cry of parents by asking them across tiers to jointly provide adequate security in and around both boarding and non-boarding schools and elsewhere across the country, the Wednesday’s incident would have mostly been averted.
He said it is unfortunate that schools are now soft targets in Nigeria for kidnappers to make money.
He said this is possible mostly because people including gunmen could gain access to school premises easily at will and at any time without being challenged.
NPAN boss said the situation is that majority of the school security guards where available are usually older people who, according to him, cannot catch rats much less the invaders with arms.
He said most of the guards are engaged directly by the schools and not government and be paying N8, 000 or N10, 000 at most as monthly salary.
He said but the security of lives and property of all Nigerians including teachers and students in schools and elsewhere is the responsibility of government across tiers.
He, however, asked both the Federal and Niger State government to, without delay, find a way of rescuing the 27 abducted children and their teachers alive and unhurt, saying that is the concern of we the parents and not whether ransom should be paid or not.
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