Abductions In Southwest: Osun Government Convenes Emergency Meeting on Security
The Osun State Government has convened an emergency meeting to address growing security concerns affecting schools in remote and border communities across the state.
The meeting followed renewed calls by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in Osun State for urgent measures to enhance security in schools located in vulnerable areas bordering neighbouring states.
The development also comes amid widespread concern over the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oyo State, which sparked mass protests in Ibadan and Ogbomoso on Monday.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Chairman of the NUT in Osun State, Babalola Babatunde, disclosed that the Commissioner for Education, Dipo Eluwole, scheduled the emergency meeting after consultations with the union.
Babatunde said the union had expressed concerns over the safety of teachers and pupils in schools situated near forests and in border communities, describing such institutions as highly vulnerable to attacks by kidnappers and other criminal elements.
He stressed the need for the immediate deployment of additional security personnel to schools in high-risk locations to forestall possible attacks and ensure the safety of both learners and educators.
“Schools located near forests and border communities are often far from urban centres, making them vulnerable targets for bandits and kidnappers. Being a teacher should not be a crime,” Babatunde said.
The union leader noted that the NUT had specifically requested the deployment of more operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS) to schools in border communities across the state.
He added that teachers in Osun State would also participate in the nationwide solidarity rally declared by the national leadership of the NUT to press for the unconditional release of the schoolchildren and teachers abducted in Oyo State on May 15.
Babatunde maintained that the safety of schools must remain a top priority for government and security agencies, warning that continued attacks on educational institutions could undermine access to quality education and endanger the lives of teachers and pupils.