In response to rising nationwide insecurity, the Senate has urged President Bola Tinubu to order the Nigerian Armed Forces to quickly recruit 100,000 more troops.
Senator Abdullahi Yahaya (Kebbi North) brought up a matter of critical national importance in his motion, detailing a recent terrorist attack in the Kebbi South Senatorial District. The attackers stormed a girls’ secondary school, kidnapped 25 students, and seriously injured the principal.
According to Channels TV, Yahaya described the occurrence as a national embarrassment and expressed her concern that the frequent attacks on schools put residents at risk and discourage girls from pursuing education.
He remembered a comparable kidnapping that occurred in 2022 at another public school in the state and how it took four years to find and free the victims.
“This terrorism targeting students must stop,” he proclaimed, pleading with the authorities to apprehend the assailants without delay.
Additionally, he pleaded with President Tinubu to spare no effort in his pursuit of justice for the assailants.
Also, the Senate has formed an ad hoc committee, which includes the Committee on Finance, to look at the Safe School Initiative’s finances, expenditures, and efficacy in light of the kidnappings.
The lawmakers who were outraged by the incident pointed out that the repeated attacks on schools made one wonder if the money meant to protect classrooms was actually used.
Recalling the 2014 disappearance of the Chibok girls on the eve of a national election, Senate President Godswill Akpabio expressed concern over the pattern of abductions.
The international community is keeping a careful eye on Nigeria’s security situation, he said, and the most recent attacks have occurred at that time.
Following the vice principal’s death while trying to protect pupils from the terrorists, the Senate observed a minute of quiet.
Girl students kidnapped; vice principal murdered
Rumor has it that 25 pupils from Maga, Kebbi State’s Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School (GGCSS) were kidnapped by bandits.
Apparently, on Sunday night, masked men stormed a school in the Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of the state and abducted the girls.
Several schoolgirls were abducted by the assailants, who reportedly murdered the school’s vice principal, Malam Hassan Makuku.
According to eyewitnesses, the bandits moved with ease and sowed terror, plunging the entire countryside into profound fear and grief.
It was said that Makuku was shot while he tried to defend the students during the invasion.
Federal Government Denounces Attack, Commits to Save Schoolgirls
Swift rescue of the kidnapped schoolgirls is promised by the federal administration, which denounces the attack on administration Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School.
The Federal Government issued a statement on Monday, signed by Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, in which it stated that the intelligence and security agencies have been given explicit orders to find the students, rescue them, and return them safely. The statement also promised that those responsible would be held accountable.
The government has conveyed its deepest sympathies to the families of the kidnapped students, stating that it understands and shares their anguish and is determined to achieve the girls’ freedom.
According to the minister, President Bola Tinubu has emphasized once again that safeguarding all Nigerians, particularly children in school, is the grave obligation of the government.
Parents Are Assured by Governor Idris
The abducted girls from Maga’s Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School (GGCSS) have been reassured by Nasir Idris, governor of Kebbi State, that rescue operations are currently in progress.
This was announced yesterday by the governor following a closed-door meeting with representatives from security agencies, traditional rulers, and the parents of the kidnapped pupils in Maga, the site of the event.
Sadly, that has already taken place. Our children have been kidnapped. With the help of the parents whose children had been abducted, Governor Idris arrived at the site and witnessed the situation firsthand.
The assurance that their children would be rescued was backed by our commitment that we would do all in our power to make that happen.
Additionally, we reassured them to keep their faith and that the security forces will take all the required measures. The whole point of our visit to Maga is to meet the locals and offer them support and self-assurance.
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