Dare Babalola
The Senate has strongly condemned the recent attack on Government Girls School in Maga, Kebbi State, where gunmen killed the vice principal and abducted 25 students.
Senators from across the country on Tuesday expressed outrage and concern over the worsening insecurity in educational institutions, calling for urgent action to rescue the abducted students and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The lawmakers’ reaction followed a motion raised by Kebbi Senator Yahaya Abdullahi during plenary, prompting a heated debate on the worsening insecurity across educational institutions.
Former Senate President Ahmad Lawan warned that the country risks losing an entire generation if decisive steps are not taken to address the issue. “These children are our future. We have to do everything possible to get them back. Otherwise, the future of Nigeria will be compromised,” he said.
Senator Orji Uzor Kalu emphasized the need for governors to share responsibility for fighting insecurity, citing his own experience as a former governor. “Security should not only be the job of the Federal Government. I have never blamed former President Olusegun Obasanjo while I was a governor. I had gone out of my way to help Anambra and other states in terms of security,” he said.
Senator Victor Umeh called for the deployment of technology to track down the abductors. “This matter is what many people don’t want to discuss anymore. But it is a matter of national importance. They were taken away and are still being moved around. So we urge security agencies to deploy their technology to find them,” he said.
Senator Solomon Lalong questioned the effectiveness of the World Bank-supported Safe School programme. “What has the girl child done to Nigeria? What is wrong with the Safe School programme funded by the World Bank, because I was also a part of it? This is the same fate that befell our Chibok girls. It should be treated as a matter of national security before it turns into another Chibok experience,” he said.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio condemned the attack, describing it as a “dastardly act” and urging the federal government and security agencies to apprehend the perpetrators and rescue the students without delay. “The Senate condemns this dastardly act, especially violence against our children. We urge the FG and security agencies to apprehend these criminals and rescue our children without delay,” he said.
Akpabio also raised questions about the logistics used by the attackers. “When we talked about these students being abducted, what did they use to convey them? But it is important to get the views of Nigerians to be compiled for our security summit,” he added.
The Senate observed a minute’s silence in honour of the vice principal and other victims of the attack before proceeding to a closed-door session to discuss the issue further. Security agents, including the police and military, have launched a search-and-rescue operation to recover the missing students.
