Reps to FG: Abducted Oyo pupils, teachers must be rescued without further delay

BY BONNY AMADI

The Nigerian house of representatives has asked the federal government to rescue the abducted Ogbomoso schoolchildren and tutors “without further delay”.

The lower legislative chamber passed the resolution during plenary on Tuesday, following the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Olamijuwonlo Alao-Akala, lawmaker representing Ogbomoso north/ Ogbomoso south/Oriire federal constituency of Oyo state.

The victims were kidnapped on May 15 after gunmen attacked Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School, Esiele; and LA Primary School in Ogbomoso, all located in Oriire LGA.

At least 45 schoolchildren and teachers were abducted during the attack. On Monday, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) commenced strike in the state, calling on the government to take urgent steps to rescue the abducted teachers and schoolchildren.

Last week, President Bola Tinubu directed the deployment of “a specialised security unit with advanced rescue capabilities” to secure the release of the kidnapped pupils and tutors.

Moving the motion, Alao-Akala condemned the killing of Michael Oyedokun, a mathematics teacher, by the abductors.

The lawmaker described the teacher’s beheading as a “barbaric and savage act”, saying it warrants an “immediate and decisive response from every arm of government”.

‘’As we sit in the comfort of this chamber, mothers in Oriire are sleepless, fathers are broken, and children still in the hands of their captors are crying out for a rescue that has not yet come, and that every passing hour of their captivity is an hour of unbearable agony for families who do not know whether their loved ones are alive or dead,” he said.

Bamidele Salam, lawmaker representing Ede north/Ede south/Ejigbo/Egbedore federal constituency of Osun state, decried the spike in insecurity, especially in public schools.

“The abduction of school children, which started with the kidnapping of Chibok girls a few years ago, is becoming a trend. One of the keys to liberating a people is education, and if that key is in the hands of killers, then there is a problem,” he said.

As leaders, we need to attend to this issue with a sense of urgency. Most of the children of the leaders attend private schools, some of them outside the country.

“The children of the poor attend public schools, but we cannot close our eyes to the plight of the children of the poor,” he said.

He asked the government to create a special force to protect schools nationwide.

Benedict Etanabene, a lawmaker from Delta, urged the parliament to conclude the constitutional process of establishing state police.

The motion was unanimously adopted after Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house, called for a voice vote.

Consequently, the parliament asked the federal government to establish a permanent military base in the area to tackle the activities of banditry across the Oyo national park and its environs.