Oyo Assembly pushes for better security in schools

The Oyo State House of Assembly is calling for immediate security changes in schools. This comes after armed men kidnapped over 40 schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area on May 15.

This decision was made after a motion by Oluwafemi Oluwafowokanmi, who represents Ibadan South-West State Constituency II. He is also the chairman of the house committee on child education. He brought up the motion during a plenary session on Tuesday.

Mr Oluwafowokanmi said that the recent attack on Community High School, Ahoro-Esiele, and L.A. Primary School, Yawota, shows how vulnerable schools are. He said it is urgent to improve security.

“Our failure to provide effective security in all public schools has led us to this troubling situation. We cannot stay quiet about the need for strong security measures to stop attacks like the one in Oriire from happening again,” Mr Oluwafowokanmi said.

He pointed out that attacks on schools are a serious threat to students, teachers, and the education system.

“The insecurity we face now, especially in public schools, makes them easy targets for criminals. Kidnapping, vandalism, and violence are worrisome trends,” the lawmaker added.

He warned that if school attacks continue, parents might hesitate to send their children to public schools. This could hurt education for kids from low-income families.

“What hope do the children of less privileged families have if public schools are unsafe? This is especially concerning now when the government is trying to reduce the number of out-of-school children,” he said.

The House also emphasized the need to strengthen the Amotekun Corps and other security agencies in schools across the state.

“The state government must take action to send Amotekun officers and other security agents to every public school. This will help prevent criminal activities and improve emergency responses to any security threats,” they stated.

They urged the executive arm of the government, through Amotekun Corps, to start deploying trained security personnel to public and private primary and secondary schools. Priority should go to schools in rural areas, border communities, and places near forests.

“We call on the government, through the Oyo State Security Network Agency, to quickly begin deploying trained Amotekun personnel to all public primary and secondary schools, especially those in rural areas and close to federal borders and forests,” they said.

The House also wants the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board, and the Teaching Service Commission to work with security agencies. They should carry out thorough security audits of public schools.

The kidnapping happened on May 15 when armed men attacked schools in Oriire Local Government Area, near Ogbomoso. They took about 39 pupils and seven teachers.

This incident caused a lot of anger across Oyo State and raised worries about school safety. As of Friday, the victims had been in captivity for about 21 days. Families, education stakeholders, and residents are anxiously waiting for their release.

The situation worsened when the kidnappers killed one of the victims, Michael Oyedokun, a mathematics teacher at one of the schools. They threatened to kill more victims. This raised fears among families and residents, leading to urgent calls for action from security agencies and the government to rescue those still held.

The abduction also led the Oyo State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) to start an indefinite strike on June 1. They are demanding the immediate rescue of the victims and better security in schools.