Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, on Sunday condemned the abduction of 87 students and teachers in Borno and Oyo states, describing the attacks as a threat to Nigeria’s future.
Bamidele, who is also the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, said the incidents further underscored the urgency of establishing state police to strengthen the country’s security architecture.
In a statement issued by his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, the Senate leader called for coordinated measures to secure schools nationwide and tackle the growing out-of-school children crisis.
While the Oyo school incident happened on Friday, Boko Haram insurgents reportedly attacked Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, abducting 42 students.
Reacting to the incidents, Bamidele described the abductions as “an attack on the future of Nigeria,” promising that the National Assembly would fast-track the process for the creation of state police.
According to him, the 10th National Assembly is already at an advanced stage in the ongoing constitutional amendment process aimed at paving the way for state police.
He explained that after the National Assembly concludes its part, the proposal would be transmitted to state Houses of Assembly for approval by at least two-thirds before it could take effect.
The Senate leader appealed to state governments and legislatures to treat the state police proposal as a matter of national importance rather than subjecting it to partisan or ethno-religious considerations.
Bamidele also urged both federal and state governments to fully implement the Safe School Initiative as a temporary measure to curb insecurity in schools and address the rising number of out-of-school children, which he said stood at 18.3 million nationwide.
He said, “The incessant abduction of students and teachers is a tragic national concern that negates our national development indices. We cannot and must not allow it to continue.
“At the National Assembly, we will rise against this trend and put an end to it through the instrumentality of legislation.
“As soon as the National Assembly resumes plenaries on June 2, we will perfect all outstanding legislative initiatives that have been introduced to decisively address security challenges in the federation.
‘Yorubaland under siege’
The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, on Sunday, expressed dismay and charged state governments, saying, “Yorubaland is now under siege.”
The organisation, in a statement released by its National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, also sympathised with families of the victims of the attacks.
Ajayi said Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, “was saddened to hear this unfortunate incident which occurred the same week he marked his 100th year on earth.”
Ajayi said, “He (Pa Fasoranti) sympathised with the victims and their families just as he prayed for the quick recovery of those who were injured.
“Besides, he expressed the hope that a total stop would be put to the life-threatening insecurity situation in the country without further delay.”
Ajayi said the latest attacks reinforced growing fears that the terrorists appeared determined to overrun the South-West and, ultimately, the entire South.
“The actions of South-West governors in recent times do not suggest that they appreciate the enormity of the responsibility they shoulder concerning the security of their land.
“In view of the fact that the primary duty of government is the security and welfare of the people, governments in South-Western states of Nigeria must prove that they are alive to their constitutionally assigned responsibilities.
“Everything must be done to ensure that no area in the region experiences an attack by kidnappers and bandits anymore,” he said.
Two videos of victims of abduction in Community High School, Ahoro-Esinele, and Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Ogbomoso Yawota area in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, pleading with the federal and state governments to come to their rescue, went viral on social media on Sunday
