The House of Representatives on Tuesday called on the federal Government and security agencies to bring the abducted students and teachers of the Baptist Nursery and Primary School (Yawota), Community Grammar School (Esiele), and L.A. Primary School in Oyo State, back home alive.
The call was made during a session on the floor of the House, following a motion by Hon. Olamijuwonlo Alao-Akalam bring our remaining sons, daughters, and teachers home alive without further delay, for every hour lost is an hour in which we risk losing them forever, and that risk now outweighs every other consideration before us”, he noted.
A school teacher, Michael Oyedokun, who was one of the teachers abducted by bandits from Community High School, Ahoro-Esiele in Oriire LGA, was beheaded by bandits in captivity.
In addition to the 1,000 forest guards already approved by President Bola Tinubu, the Reps noted that a permanent military forward operating base should be established in Orire Local Government Area, to plant a sustained and dominating security presence across the Old Oyo National Park and its environs.
According to them, establishing a security presence is “so that this strategic frontier around the border corridors ceases to be a safe-haven for killers and a passage of terror into the South-West.”
They also called for the creation of state and local policing units.
“The House also resolved that the National Assembly and the Executive Arm must, without further excuse or delay, commence full implementation of the adopted resolution on a decentralised and regional security architecture.
“The creation of state police, local government policing units, decentralised courts, and an integrated national intelligence and surveillance network.“People have waited long enough, and every further postponement is paid for in the blood of innocents, and brings the nation closer to being overrun”, they argued.
The call for action by the lawmakers and across the country comes as protests continued nationwide on Tuesday, with the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) staging rallies in several states.
The demonstrations followed a peaceful protest by civil society groups in Ibadan on Monday, during which participants demanded the immediate rescue of the abducted victims.
The rallies held in Oyo, Ogun, Kano, Plateau, Lagos, Edo, Rivers, Yobe staes, among others.
