Anxiety mounts over fate of abducted 327 pupils

The school’s signpost

Parents, school owners and teachers in the country have expressed worry over increasing abductions of schoolchildren and the fate of the 327 pupils kidnapped in Kebbi and Niger states.

They note that with the current trend, no one is certain of the next educational institution that may be attacked.

Schools in the North have faced a string of attacks in the past few days.

On Monday, 26 schoolgirls were abducted from the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State. Two of them later escaped, leaving 24 still in captivity.

On Friday, 215 pupils and 12 teachers were initially reported abducted in Niger, before the number of abducted students increased to 303 after a review of the missing pupils.

Despite optimism from security agencies and state governments about ongoing rescue efforts, the whereabouts of the abducted pupils remain unknown.

The Chairman of the National Proprietors of Private Schools, Otubela Abayomi, said the National Executive Committee of the group would be meeting over the matter on Sunday.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, Otubela described the spate of abductions as a setback for national development and the future of the country.

“It is a matter of grave concern to us. We are also speaking to our local chairperson in that area to supply us with firsthand information aside from what is being reported in the media,” he said.

Abayomi described the ongoing wave of kidnappings as “painful” and “saddening.”

“It seems there is no end to the kidnapping of children and workers within schools. This is not a good omen for national development as those who are supposed to lead the country in the future are being denied quality education, and those who have not been attacked are full of fear at the moment,” he said.