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Security expert Dr. Ona Ekhomu has urged the Federal Govertnment to utilize the Makama Strategy to go in hot pursuit of the abductors of the school children in Kagara, Rafi LGA of Niger State. He said with every hour that passes, the terrorists are able to exercise better control over the abductees which might result in more suffering for the school children and eventual payment of huge ransom for their freedom.
Reacting to the abduction of dozens of children from the Government Science Secondary School, Kagara, Niger State, Ekhomu who is President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria (AISSON) said that it was unfortunate that the security of schools was not receiving adequate attention from the Federal Government. He said that after the Kankara School abductions and other mass school abductions in the Northwest, the vulnerability of schools to targeted terrorist attacks had become evident. “Without adequate and effective countermeasures, it was then possible for the bandits to abduct more school kids at will”, he added.
He said that education is a human right of young children. But it is up to the adults to create a safe environment where learning can take place. He said the Federal Government and Niger State Government had failed the students by doing nothing to mitigate the porosity of Government Science Secondary School, Kagara in Rafi LGA which is a hotbed of insurgent activity in the Northwest.
Dr. Ekhomu, West Africa’s first chartered security professional said that the probability of another school attack was axiomatic. He advised that robust countermeasures should be put in place to mitigate the inevitable attacks. Such countermeasures include the installation of air raid sirens in schools, the use of force multipliers in alerting nearly authorities about attacks, use of metal doors in school compounds and the appointment of armed school resource (security) officers.
He called for the sack of the police and military chiefs with responsibility for Kagara town “as they were derelict in performing their duty of protecting school populations and other soft targets”.
He urged the Niger State Commissioner of Police to lead the hunt for the abducted school children. He said that working with vigilance groups, hunters, police personnel, military and other security resources, there should be a hunt for the abducted students using the Makama line method. He advocated the use of attack helicopters to give close support for the searchers, and decried the reported use of fighter jets saying“the right air assets must be used in resolving this situation. This is simple cost effective analysis”
Dr. Ekhomu said that there incessant mass abduction in schools were giving the impression that Nigeria is a failing state. He urged the Federal Government to work hard to change this negative perception and avoid a self-fulfilling prophesy. The security expert referred counterterrorism officials, security planners and government officials to Chapter 8 of his new book titled Boko Haram: Security Considerations and the Rise of an Insurgency which deals with how to counter school attacks by insurgents.
He urged Nigerians to be vigilant and report planned security breaches to the authorities. He said that jihadi extremists were active in the Northwest and Nigerians must deny them safe haven in the Rugu Forest. He advised all the states in the North West to establish command and control centers where citizens can phone in their distress in order to reduce the delay in commencing rescue of abducted citizens.
