Abduction: Oyo Assembly demands better security for schools

The Oyo State House of Assembly, on Tuesday, called for the immediate strengthening of security across public and private educational schools and institutions in the state, following the recent abduction of students and teachers at Community High School, Esiele, and L.A. Primary School, Yawota, in Oriire Local Government Area of the state. This resolution followed a motion moved at Tuesday’s plenary by the lawmaker representing Ibadan South West State Constituency II, Oluwafemi Oluwafowokanmi, who urged the Executive Arm of Government to deploy operatives of the state Security Network Agency (Amotekun Corps), the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to schools across the state. Moving the motion, Oluwafowokanmi expressed concern that recent security breaches around schools, particularly the disturbing incident in Oriire Local Government, had raised serious concerns about the safety of students, teachers and educational facilities. He noted that public schools are increasingly becoming vulnerable targets for criminal activities, including kidnapping, vandalism, cult-related violence and other forms of insecurity. Oluwafowokanmi said, “The present insecurity challenges in our nation, especially where schools are increasingly vulnerable targets for criminal activities, have become worrisome, and warned that the growing threats to school safety could discourage parents and guardians from sending their children to public schools. “What then will be the hope of children of the less privileged and low-income earners whose only available means of education lies in public schools?. At this moment, we cannot afford to keep silent on the need to take proactive security measures that would prevent the recurrence of the Oriire school attack elsewhere in Oyo. “The deployment of trained security personnel to schools, particularly those located in rural communities and areas bordering forests, would strengthen surveillance, improve intelligence gathering and guarantee rapid response to security threats. “Such measures would help restore the confidence of parents and guardians in the safety of their children and ensure that fear does not prevent access to education,” he said. The House subsequently commended Governor Seyi Makinde for his unwavering commitment to the security of lives and property and his continued support for the security agencies and the Amotekun Corps. Related News Oyo Assembly seeks reforms to Amotekun, anti-grazing laws VIDEO: Oyo residents chanting ‘Jagaban 2027’ after receiving semovita Ibadan visitation: Nobody can stop me from going a