… Expresses relieve over release of the schoolboys
BY ADEYEMI AKANJI, BAUCHI – UNICEF Nigeria has called on the Federal and state governments in Nigeria to as a matter of urgency put in place stringent interventions that will ensure that schools and other institutions of learning are made safe and secured for all children to learn under a conducive atmosphere without fear.
This is as the international humanitarian organisation stressed that no cause justifies attacks against children and schools, saying that such cruel disregard for humanity must come to an end.
A statement by UNICEF Nigeria Representative, Peter Hawkins in Bauchi on the release of the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina state, noted that it has been almost one week since the appalling attack on the school, an attack that shocked the country.
Hawkins said; “I am relieved to hear that about 344 children are reported to have been released last night and we look forward to their safe returns to their families. If any are still being held, we call on the attackers to release all children immediately. Any other children still being held captive in Nigeria should also be released”.
“For one week, parents were awake at night, crying and awaiting the return of their sons. My thoughts and solidarity are with these children, their families and the Kankara community – who have endured an unimaginable ordeal this past week”.
The UNICEF representative said that last Friday’s attack, directly targeting children in the middle of the night, in a place where they should feel safe, was an outrage. According to him; “Schools should be safe. Children should never be the target of attack – and yet, far too often in Nigeria, they are precisely that – victims of attacks on their schools. Attacks on educational facilities are a grave violation of children’s rights. This incident is a disturbing reminder of the heavy toll that violence takes on civilians in north-west Nigeria, including children”
“Such attacks deprive children of the right to an education. They make children fearful of going to the classroom, and parents afraid to send their children to school. Schools must be safe places to study and develop, and learning cannot become a perilous endeavor”, he lamented.
“Interventions must be put in place to ensure that schools are safe, and that all Nigerian children can learn without fear. These interventions should take into account the important role that communities can play in ensuring the safety of schools, including through support for school-based management committees (SBMCs)”.
A total of 344 students of the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State were released by the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram which claimed their abduction last Friday.
