By Ben Ogbemudia
Worried by the increasing kidnapping of School Children across the country, Professor Julius Ihonvbere alongside his colleague Hon. Benjamin Mzondu Ben from Benue State on Tuesday Urged the Federal Ministry of Education and its relevant agencies, particularly Tetfund and UBEC, to work out appropriate modalities for the provision of basic security and safety measures to protect schools.

Ihonvbere who is the House Committee on Basic Education and Services in one of his resolutions moved on the floor of the house said that the weak or non-existent security infrastructure in most of the schools across the Nation which do not have the barest form of resistance to serve as the first line of defense, leaves the children open to all forms of attacks from bandits which is rather sad;

“Equally notes that since December 2020, hundreds of Teachers, Students, and Pupils from primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions have been abducted from schools across the country, further highlighting a troubling development in the Country’s kidnap-for-ransom crisis which has now become a money-making “business” activity of the perpetrators of this heinous crime;

“The kidnap/abduction of nearly 300 students from Government Girls Science Secondary School, Jangegbe in Zamfara State on the 26th of February 2021 and the kidnap of 27 boys and their teachers from a school in Kagara in Niger state happened in the space of 10 days;

All existing duly issued tinted permits remain valid, says IGP

While noting the increasing insecurity that is now affecting all sectors in Nigeria irrespective of class, religion, ethnicity, and location, Professor Julius Ihonvbere said it has become a worrisome development.

“Worried that many of our schools are easily accessed by hawkers, drug dealers, animals, miscreants and this exposes our children to bad influences;

” Aware that Schools across the nation need to prevent unwanted intruders from entering the security space that has been defined for students and staff, establish the frontiers of schools, provide primary resistance to intruders, and protect the students and facilities of the schools;

“Also aware that it is time to be creative and rely heavily on budget-friendly new technology in the provision of basic protection and security measures in our schools beyond cement walls;

The Federal Lawmakers also resolved that the Committees on Basic Education and Services and Tertiary Education should be mandated to ensure compliance.