In a speech delivered on Thursday, Interior Minister Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo expressed concern that parents are now afraid to send their children to school due to the country’s worsening insecurity.
Speaking at the launch of “Exercise Safe Schools” in Makurdi, Benue State, Tunji-Ojo said that the menace of attacks on schools has been a “worrisome situation” since the abduction of hundreds of girls from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State, in 2014.
The minister, who spoke through the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ahmed Abubakar Audi, at the occasion of passing out of 364 participants who were trained to provide security for schools in Benue and other states of the country including all those in North Central hailed the formation of a safer schools unit within the NSCDC. He said that the initiative had prevented over 30 attacks on schools across the country since its inception.
Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia also pledged his administration’s support for schools security, emphasizing the vital role of education in development.
Alia made the pledge at the launch of “Exercise Safe Schools” in Makurdi, Benue State. He said that his administration is committed to creating a safe and secure environment for all students in the state.
He also urged parents to send their children to school, despite the security challenges. He said that education is the key to a better future for Nigeria.
