Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba Order Closure of Boarding Schools over Insecurity

*Kebbi shuts tertiary institutions

The Yobe, Adamawa and Taraba state governments have ordered the closure of all boarding secondary schools as part of a proactive effort to protect students amid rising security concerns in the country.
This is as the Kebbi State Government ordered the immediate closure of all state-owned tertiary institutions, except the College of Nursing Sciences and Midwifery, Birnin Kebbi, citing heightened insecurity across the state.

In Yobe, the directive, issued on Saturday by Governor Mai Mala Buni, followed a security meeting he held with heads of security agencies in the state to review recent attacks targeting schools in other regions.
The development was announced in a statement released on Saturday, signed by the Director General of Press and Media Affairs to the Governor, Mohammed Mamman, and made available to reporters.
According to the statement, the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education has already circulated a notice mandating an immediate shutdown of the schools.

“A notice signed by the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Dr. Bukar Aji Bukar, directed immediate closure of all secondary schools pending improvement in the situation,” the statement noted.
Mamman added that Governor Buni urged residents to support ongoing security efforts through prayers.
In Adamawa State, the state government ordered the closure of all public and private boarding schools in the state.
In a statement on Saturday, signed by the state Commissioner for Education and Human Development, Dr. Umar Pella, the government said the decision, made by Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, was aimed at preventing a repeat of the recent abductions of students in Niger and Kebbi states.

“Sequel to the security challenges that the country is facing at the moment, particularly with what happened to students in Niger and Kebbi states, it has been observed with great dismay that the target of the evil perpetrators is boarding secondary schools.

“Considering this ugly situation in the country, I am directed by his Excellency, the Executive Governor of Adamawa State, Hon. Ahmadu Fintiri, to deboard all boarding schools across the state, be it public or private schools,” the statement read.

In Taraba State, Governor Agbu Kefas, ordered all private and public secondary schools in the state to immediately deboard their students in response to rising insecurity across the country.

The directive was announced in a statement on Friday, signed by the Commissioner for Education, Dr. Augustina Godwin.

According to the statement, the escalating security challenges nationwide have made boarding students in both public and private secondary schools potential targets for kidnappers, referencing the recent abductions of students in Kebbi and Niger states.

Godwin said the governor has directed that all secondary schools, public and private, operate strictly as day schools until further notice.

Several students from St. Mary’s School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, were kidnapped by terrorists in the early hours of Friday.

The incident comes just days after a similar attack in Maga, Kebbi State, where 25 students were kidnapped, heightening concerns over the deteriorating security situation in educational institutions across the region.

Meanwhile, the Kebbi State Government ordered the immediate closure of all state-owned tertiary institutions, except the College of Nursing Sciences and Midwifery, Birnin Kebbi, citing heightened insecurity across the state.

The directive was issued on Saturday by the state Commissioner for Higher Education, Alhaji Issa Tunga, in Birnin Kebbi.