Kidnap of Lagos Model college students: Parents gripped with fear

…As Lagos govt, IGP assure of students rescue

By Olasunkanmi Akoni, Evelyn Usman & Monsur Olowoopejo

Amidst apprehension by Parents of the six Senior Secondary School students of Lagos  Model College, Igbonla, Epe who were abducted Thursday morning by militants, Lagos State Government has given assurance that the girls will be rescued unhurt soon. Governor Akinwumi Ambode was said to have directed all security officers to comb the creeks and rescue the children alive.

It was gathered that the parents were visibly worried following silence from their abductors 36 hours after the incident

As at 7pm yesterday, none of the parents or school management  had been contacted by the kidnappers on payment of ransom for the students’ release as was done in the October abduction of students and members of staff of the school.

The affected parents visited the school yesterday looking down cast. One of them offered prayers, which had been going on since Thursday. for the safe arrival of her SSS 2 son and his colleagues

Two other women claimed they had not changed their clothes since the incident happened.

Other parents who live outside Lagos visited to pick their wards.

Academic activities were suspended following a directive purportedly from the state government

Meanwhile, the state Deputy governor, Mrs. Oluranti Adebule, who led government officials to the school for on the spot assessment after she returned from Abuja, yesterday, said: “We are on top of the situation and the Governor has directed all security operatives to step up action on rescuing the students, details of which I cannot disclose in order not to undermine their operation.”

The deputy Governor in an emotion-laden voice, therefore, urged parents of the affected children to be calm as government would stop at nothing to ensure safe return of their children.

While condemning the kidnap which she described as anti-social, Adebule, appealed to the conscience of the kidnappers to release the children and allow them to reunite with their families.

She commended the management of the school for being proactive in mobilising security operatives who engaged the gunmen before they escaped and urged residents of the area and environs to support government efforts in beefing up security around the school.

In the same vein, the Inspector-General Of Police , Mr Ibrahim Idris has assured  that the police would do all within their power to ensure the rescue of the abducted students.

Speaking  at  the closing ceremony of Explosive Ordinance Disposal   EOD  Mentorship Training Course organised for the EOD personnel by the united State Embassy at Ikeja , Idris stated that the children would not only be rescued but that perpetrators of the kidnap would also be arrested.

Represented by the Deputy Inspector General Of  Police in charge of  operations, Mr Joshak Habila, he said that the Police were on top of the situation. “Crime is bound to happen and when it happens, what we should  be concerned with  is how to solve the problem  and that is what we are doing. We are very serious when it comes to the issue of crime fighting, ,especially kidnapping. It is on record that we have cracked high profile kidnappings and arrested the kidnappers. This one is not a different case, we are working round the clock and synergising with sister agencies on how to rescue the children and arrest those behind the dastardly act.

“ As you all know, police can’t be everywhere at the same time. Keeping the police  permanently in a secondary school is not even the best as it will affect the psychology of the students.

Besides, the school  is surrounded by water and  we have fishermen fishing there. They will see strange faces coming with speed boats and  they will keep quite. The villagers will see strange people in their land and they will not call the police. People should embrace community policing and provide adequate information to the Police .That is the only way we can fight  kidnappers to standstill. If you see something say something “

Reacting to the kidnap, Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), expressed concern over persistent kidnap of students, urging the State Government to deploy armed security personnel to schools, especially those in border communities.

MSSN lamented that the same school was earlier stormed by kidnappers during which the Vice Principal, a teacher and four students were kidnapped on October 6, 2016. The Amir (President) of the MSSN in Lagos, Dr. Saheed Ashafa, in a statement yesterday, described the kidnap as “shocking and worrisome,” noting, the state government and security agencies must give huge attention to security in schools.

He lamented that students were the victims of the shortcomings of insecurity in the state, noting that perpetrators must be brought to book.

To prevent further kidnap in schools, the Muslim students’ leader urged the state government to ensure the presence of well equipped security personnel in schools across state.

He said, “The current kidnap of school children and staff is worrisome and embarrassing. We are shocked to witness a repeat of this ugly situation within a very short span of time.

“We advise the state government to take a decisive step to put a stop to the occurrence of this kind of experience subsequently. We suggest that well equipped security personnel should be permanently stationed in our schools, in addition to other intelligence measures.

“As we sympathise with the families of the victims, we urge the state and security agencies to deplore all necessary apparatus to regain freedom for the victims.”

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