Abduction: Oyo Assembly demands better security for schools

The Oyo State House of Assembly has urgently called for strengthened security measures at all public and private educational institutions. This resolution follows the recent abductions of students and teachers at schools in the Oriire Local Government Area.

“

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.

During a plenary session, lawmakers urged the Executive Arm of Government to deploy operatives from the state's Security Network Agency (Amotekun Corps), the Nigeria Police Force, and other security agencies to schools statewide. The move aims to address growing concerns about the safety of students, teachers, and educational facilities, particularly in light of recent security breaches.

“

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.

Lawmakers highlighted that public schools are increasingly vulnerable to criminal activities such as kidnapping and vandalism. They warned that persistent insecurity could deter parents from sending their children to public schools, disproportionately affecting low-income families. The assembly stressed the need for proactive security to prevent further incidents like the Oriire attack.

“

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.

The resolution emphasized deploying trained security personnel, especially to rural schools and those near forest borders, to enhance surveillance, intelligence gathering, and rapid response. This is expected to restore parents' confidence and ensure education access remains unhindered by fear. The House also commended Governor Seyi Makinde for his commitment to security.

“

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.