Oyo Assembly Demands Urgent School Security Reforms After Abductions

The Oyo State House of Assembly has demanded immediate security overhauls for schools across the state. This call follows the recent kidnapping of more than 40 students and teachers in the Oriire Local Government Area on May 15. The resolution came after a motion presented by Oluwafemi Oluwafowokanmi, a member representing Ibadan South-West State Constituency II and chairman of the house committee on child education.

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Our failure to provide functional security measures across all our public schools has led to the present situation we find ourselves in at this moment. We cannot afford to keep silent on the need to deploy measures, security measures that will prevent the reoccurrence of the Orire school attack elsewhere in the state.

Mr. Oluwafowokanmi emphasized that the recent attacks on Community High School, Ahoro-Esiele, and L.A. Primary School, Yawota, exposed significant vulnerabilities. "Our failure to provide functional security measures across all our public schools has led to the present situation we find ourselves in at this moment," he stated. He warned that continued attacks could deter parents, particularly those from low-income households, from sending their children to public schools, undermining efforts to increase school enrollment.

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The present insecurity challenges in our nation, especially where public schools are increasingly vulnerable targets for criminal activities, including kidnapping, vandalism, cultivated violence, and other forms of insecurity have become worrisome.

The lawmakers also stressed the importance of reinforcing the regional security outfit, the Amotekun Corps, and other security agencies. They urged the executive arm of government to deploy Amotekun personnel and other security agents to all public and private primary and secondary schools. The deployment should prioritize schools in rural areas, border communities, and locations near forest reserves to prevent criminal activities and enhance emergency response.

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What then will be the hope of the children of the less privileged low-income earners, whose only available means of children lies in public schools, particularly at this moment when the government is working to reduce the number of the children out of schools.