The Senate has condemned the abduction of 87 students and teachers in separate attacks across Borno State and Oyo State within 24 hours, describing the incidents as a direct attack on Nigeria’s future.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, made the condemnation in a statement issued on Sunday through his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs.
Bamidele expressed concern over the resurgence of attacks on schools despite previous efforts and international interventions aimed at securing learning institutions across the country.
According to him, the latest abductions were particularly disturbing, considering that about $30m was raised globally in 2014 to strengthen security in both public and private schools following previous incidents of mass kidnappings.
Suspected gunmen had on Friday abducted 45 students and teachers from Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Community Grammar School and L. A. Primary School in Esiele, Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Within the same period, suspected Boko Haram terrorists reportedly attacked Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, abducting 42 students.
The attacks have sparked renewed concerns over the safety of schools, especially in rural communities vulnerable to banditry and insurgency.
Bamidele, who also serves as Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, said the incidents reinforced the urgency of establishing state police across the federation.
According to him, the proposal for state police is already at an advanced stage at the National Assembly as part of the ongoing constitutional amendment process.
He disclosed that lawmakers were working towards concluding the process before transmitting it to state Houses of Assembly for ratification.
“One of such initiatives is the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution that seeks to establish state police, which is now at an advanced stage,” he said.
The Senate leader explained that after the National Assembly concluded its legislative process, the proposal would be forwarded to state legislatures for consideration.
He noted that approval by at least two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly would be required before the initiative could become operational.
According to him, sub-national governments and lawmakers across the states must treat the proposal as a matter of national importance rather than politicise it along ethnic, regional or religious lines.
He appealed to political leaders to support the initiative in the interest of national security.
Pending the establishment of state police, Bamidele called on both the Federal Government and state governments to urgently adopt and strengthen the Safe School Initiative as a temporary measure to protect pupils, teachers and educational facilities.
He lamented that insecurity and repeated attacks on schools were worsening Nigeria’s already troubling out-of-school children crisis.
According to him, the country currently has about 18.3 million out-of-school children.
The lawmaker described the incessant abduction of students and teachers as “a tragic national concern that negates our national development indices.”
He added that the 10th National Assembly would intensify legislative efforts to tackle insecurity when plenary resumes on June 2.
Bamidele also disclosed that the National Assembly was considering amendments to the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 to strengthen the justice system and ensure stricter consequences for violent crimes.
“Another is the amendment of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 aimed at strengthening the system of consequence in the country’s justice sector and discouraging heinous crimes nationwide,” he stated.