Nigerian teachers initiate strike over school kidnappings

The Nigeria Union of Teachers has launched an open-ended strike starting Monday in Oyo State, protesting the mid-May kidnapping of dozens of children and their teachers.

On May 15, gunmen, whom Nigeria’s army suspects to be Boko Haram terrorists, kidnapped students and staff from three schools in the southwestern state of Oyo.

Kidnappings for ransom are an ongoing battle for authorities in northern Nigeria, but the mass abductions were unusual for Oyo, one of Nigeria’s most populous states.

Seven teachers were kidnapped along with between 25 and 39 children aged two to 16, officials said.

The search is still ongoing to find them.

The NUT has called on primary and secondary school teachers in Oyo State to withdraw their services from schools starting Monday, until further notice.

The union said the strike was in protest “against the continued detention of our colleagues and learners by the abductors without any clear sign of their timely rescue and safe release”.

It said the situation has sparked fear and hopelessness among teachers, made parents reluctant to send their kids to school, and stirred panic and tension in communities across the state.

It urged the government “to intensify strategies towards bringing the abductees back safely and without any further delay”, advising teachers to stay at home and “remain law-abiding”

The gunmen simultaneously raided Baptist Nursery and Primary in the community of Yawota and two other schools in nearby Esiele in what police said was a “coordinated attack”.

The Christian Association of Nigeria said 39 children and seven teachers were abducted from the schools, while the state governor said 25 pupils and seven teachers were taken.

The Nigerian army, working with the US military, has intensified operations against terrorists in the north, reportedly pushing some to move southward.

On Sunday, President Bola Tinubu said 1,000 forest rangers were being recruited in Oyo State, and he was sending a “high-level” delegation there comprising government ministers and the national police inspector general.

SOURCE: MRA