Kidnapping: Panic in Abuja boarding schools

From Fred Itua, Abuja

Residents and parents in the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have expressed the fear on the safety and security of their wards in boarding schools owing to recent cases of abductions in schools in some northern states of the country.
In recent weeks, there have been attacks in schools in Niger, Zamfara and Katsina states with boarding students kidnapped and kept in forests for days with federal and state governments having to negotiate for their release. And because the FCT shares boundary with Niger State, most parents said they are having sleepless nights keeping their children in boarding schools located in parts of Abuja satellite towns where mountains and forests surounds the schools, yet without adequate security, including perimeter fences.
Though no abduction has taken place in any school in the FCT, parents who spoke with Daily Sun suggested they might withdraw their wards from dormitories until there were evidence of sufficient security provided by the management of the schools. One of the parents, Mr. Jeffrey Akachukwu, said in parts of the FCT, Fulani herdsmen have occupied areas where schools with boarding houses are sited.
Some of the schools listed with porous security include Government Secondary school (GSS), Karshi; Federal Government College, Kwali and Federal Government College, Bwari. Findings by Daily Sun, revealed that GSS Karshi has hundreds of students, both male and female, as boarders, but lacks a complete perimeter fence.
Contract for the fence was awarded since 2010, but only the outer part of it was completed, with a gate as camouflage, while a vast part of the premises remain open and susceptible to attacks.
Akachukwu said both herdsmen and farmers were allowed by the school authority to use the exit gate and expressed the fear that the school was susceptible to attacks.
“Why are herdsmen allowed to be occupying part of the school’s land? Is the management of the school and FCT Administration not seeing the mountainous forest that surround the school? Are they waiting until an evil day comes before appropriate action is taken?” he queried.
However, a top official at the FCT Education Secretariat said there was no cause for fear by parents as boarding schools in Abuja are safe and secured.
“Our schools are safe; but I cannot tell you what we are doing to secure the schools, it is a security issue, and we can’t make it public,” said the source who preferred to remain anonymous.
He however assured that efforts were ongoing to complete the fencing of GSS Karshi saying the contractor had to stop work, when someone claimed ownership of part of the school land.