Nigeria Union of Teachers on Wednesday expressed regret over the reported abduction of 27 students and 15 workers of Government Science College, Kagara in the Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.
NUT, while urging the Federal Government to urgently declare a state of emergency on the security situation in the country, it warned that it “will not hesitate to withdraw the services of all teachers in the affected states of the federation”, if the security situation in schools and colleges were not guaranteed.
The union also faulted the strategy being deployed by security agencies, saying it fell short of expectations, considering that the Kagara abduction has just occurred while Nigeria had yet to fully contend with the December 2020 abduction of students in Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Katsina State.
NUT Secretary-General, Dr. Mike Ene, made these observations in a statement entitled: “Terrorists’ attacks on schools and abduction of students/teachers: One incident too many.”
According to him, “It has become imperative for all tiers of government to put all hands on deck. We therefore call on state governments to use part of their security votes to employ alternate security services to complement existing security agencies in policing our schools.
“We must warn that if the security situation in our schools and colleges is not guaranteed, the NUT will not hesitate to withdraw the services of all teachers in the affected states of the federation.
“The union is worried and greatly concerned over the increasing state of insecurity across the country, where attacks on soft targets such as schools are fast becoming danger spot for bandits and other criminal elements in Nigeria.
“The NUT is alarmed by this brazen attack, which has left a number of families and relatives distressed. We call on the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, declare a state of emergency on security situations in the country.
“The current strategy deployed by our security agencies falls short of expectations, considering that the Kagara abduction has just occurred while the nation is yet to fully contend with the December, 2020 abduction of students in Government Science Secondary School Kankara Katsina state.
“Such criminal elements have no place in a civilised society such as Nigeria. The Federal Government must deploy the full weight of our nation’s security apparatus to ensure the safe return of our abducted students and teachers.
“Furthermore, steps must be taken to completely eliminate all forms of security threats to our schools. We wish to reiterate that teaching and learning can only be guaranteed in an atmosphere of safety and security.”
