Kidnapping: House Urges FG to Beef up Security in Public, Private Schools

The House of Representatives has called on the federal government and proprietors of private schools to beef up security within the premises of public and private schools respectively in order not to expose the students to any form of attack.

The lawmaker representing Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency of Kaduna State, Hon. Yakubu Barde, moved a motion of urgent national importance at the plenary on Wednesday, following the abduction of six female students and two members of staff of Engravers College, a boarding school located at Jakai Dani village in Chikun Local Government Area last week.

He said the abductors had established contact with the school authorities two days after, demanding the sum of N50 million as ransom before they could release the abductees, stressing that  neither the parents of these students nor the school authorities has been able to provide the money.

Barde said Kaduna State Government in collaboration with the security agencies had mobilised personnel to the area for possible rescue of the victims.

The lawmaker, however, expressed worry that over the past six days that the students and their teachers had been in custody of the kidnappers that only God knows what they would be going through.

Barde said with the reduced vehicular traffic along the dreaded Abuja-Kaduna expressway because of the massive shift to rail transportation, it appeared the kidnapping activities had taken another dimension.

He also expressed concern that the kidnappers are gradually shifting their operations from the roads and had resorted to schools and communities along these roads to abduct people, warning that very soon they would move to cities to kidnap.

To this end, Barde urged "the security agents to intensify efforts in the search for the abductees and for possible rescue and arrest of the perpetrators.

"The government and proprietors of private schools to beef up security within the premises of public and private schools respectively in order not to expose the students to any form of attack."