The Lagos State government is not leaving anything to chance, following threats by unknown people to abduct teachers and pupils of the Model College in Kankon, Badagry. The government and its community have tightened security in the school, reports ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA.
It was drizzling when The Nation arrived at the Lagos State Model College Kankon in Badagry, last Friday.
A police pick up van with deflated tyres, and no occupants was stationed in front of the gate.
A few minutes after, a young security officer approached the ‘intruder’, asking for his mission.
“I understand you, sir,” the guard said in a polite tone, “but we don’t allow anybody to park outside the gate. Since we know whom you have come to see, you can drive in, and fill the Visitors’ Form. Please can you open your boot for me to see what you have inside?”
A group of armed police officers, who appeared from nowhere, soon joined the guard. They had hidden themselves in the shrubs adjacent to the gate. They searched the reporter before allowing him in.
Last month, unknown persons sent two letters to the Junior Secondary School (JSS) and Senior Secondary School (SSS) arms of the school threatening to abduct some pupils and the two principals. The letters were pasted on the corridors of the two principals.
The threat came after gunmen stormed Government Model College, Igbonla-Epe on May 25 and abducted six pupils who were yet to be released by Tuesday.
It was the second time in seven months that kidnappers stormed the school. In the first incident, they kidnapped one of the two principals and some teachers. They were later released. So, the government, management, parents, and the host community at Kankon are not leaving anything to chance following the kidnap threat.
Although the faceless group threatened to strike in two weeks, which has since lapsed, the government is not toying with security. It has deployed police men and soldiers who now mount road blocks on the Owode/Apa Expressway.
Though the government assured residents and parents that it was on top of the situation, The Nation learnt that the parents’ resort to self-help led to one of the two principals being queried.
A parent, who did not wish to be named, said at an emergency Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meeting, that parents agreed to pay N2,500 each to assist the school beef up security. However, the government was against it.
“We discussed this issue exhaustively and concluded that these are our children and, therefore, we need not leave everything about security in government’s hands.
“The decision was communicated to the principal who also forwarded a letter to the government for approval. But we heard the approval had not yet been granted before parents began the contribution. This is what angered the District. We learnt the Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary (TG/PS) was here last week and she was not comfortable with the situation because approval had not yet been obtained,” the parent said.
The Ministry of Education Public Relations Officer, Mr Segun Ogundeji, said the government would not support people hiding under any guise to extort parents.
“Are you even sure the money will be judiciously used? On the other hand, somebody in the end could say the project put in place is not commensurate with what was contributed. From there, arguments or misunderstandings could break out.
“And why donate since the government said it is capable of doing it? It’s not as if we are blocking parents. We appreciate their efforts, but we are up to the task,” he said.
However, Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Badagry Division, Hunwhenu Zannu, condemned the government’s action of rejecting the parents’ assistance.
He said the parents’ gesture was appropriate since they were willing, not that the management compelled them to pay.
With their effort rejected, a parent said they were forced to depend on the government. He noted that security had improved in the school.
The source said: “The government has assured us not to panic. We have also witnessed improved security in the school. We have told them (the government) to raise the perimeter fencing.
“The school had an event on Saturday and I was there as a representative of the Parents’ Forum. As I drove along, I realised there are more security posts comprising police, Navy, and the neighbourhood watch.
“I also seized that opportunity to ask two of my children about the security situation. They told me that the school management is now more conscious. They said the school had redefined its boundaries. They said there are some areas in the school they are no longer allowed to go and any pupil that tries to escape will be caught by the security.”
Oba Oyekan Adekanmi Ajose, the monarch of Apa Kingdom, which hosts the school, assured parents that the community was watching over their children.
His Personal Assistant, Mr Solomon Awhanto, told The Nation that the monarch has also intensified community policing with the deployment of vigilante groups.
He said: “Since we received that letter, we have deployed more vigilantes to monitor every area, particularly the waterways.
“We have about 30 of them (vigilantes) on ground already but I won’t disclose their identity to you. They work with the police and operate on shift basis. They lay ambush at all hideouts that we know just to keep watch and inform the police of any suspicious movements.
“The major challenge here is that the vigilantes are not mobile. They also need vehicles to move around. They had always been around even before the kidnappers wrote letters. They are doing a good job. Go and ask the police yourself, they will tell you.
“The majority of hideouts here are through the waterways and we are on top of it. It (kidnapping) can never happen. Even if it happens, I can bet you those kidnappers will not find an escape route out of here.”
A security guard in the school said that the security structure would make it difficult for criminals to have their way.
“You can see police in front of the gate. But after the letter, we now have more of them here. I learnt the government sent them here from Ikeja.
“But our greatest strength here is our vigilante. As I am talking to you, some of them are here but you cannot identify them. Once it is night, many of them, including local hunters, arrive to keep vigil here and they don’t leave until day break.”
The source added that the management also employed some guards to watch the school.
The Nation joined two of the pupils during break who said they had been warned not to talk to strangers.
“We are aware (of the threat letter),” the duo said, presuming their interrogator was a parent.
“Each time we hold assembly, they will always remind us that kidnappers said they will come here and that we all should be vigilant. They warn us not to talk to strangers and that we should raise the alarm in case we see strange faces or movements,” they added.
The Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary, Mr Adesina Odeyemi, told The Nation that the government had planned measures to boost security in its model colleges.
“We will illuminate the compound within and around the perimeter fence. We also plan to raise the fence and erect a watch tower for the guards to watch the school. We have started at Igbonla and will cascade it to all other colleges. We plan to put alarm bells everywhere so if you press it, it will ring all around the premises. We have also educated the students on how to manage security,” he said.
On the security situation in Badagry schools, Zannu lamented that many primary schools lack perimeter fences. He worried that kidnappers could attack such schools if they fail in Kankon.
“Abduction does not just happen in a day. The perpetrators must have been planning it for months, if not years. They also have Plan B just in case their Plan A fails to work. That is why we can only appeal to the government to build perimeter fencing for some primary schools in Badagry area,” he said.
Zannu, who said he had visited Kankon since the threat of abduction, however, accused the police officers stationed in front of the school of extorting commuters heading to and from the border, rather than doing their primary assignment.
Speaking with The Nation, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer Olarinde Famous-Cole, noted that there were some security lapses in Kankon. He, however, said that police was not taking chances.
“We have observed some security lapses in the school; but we are also in touch with government to make some amendments with regards to that. The fence you talked about will be mended.
“The Divisional Police Officer and the Area K are already combing everywhere. We patrol during the day and in the night and work with the vigilantes. We won’t reveal our security strategy to the public. We have also told the teachers and security guards that they must identify and clear every visitor before allowing them into the school premises. This cuts across all model schools including other public and private schools in Lagos,” he said.
