More Northern States Shut Schools over Abductions

More states in northern Nigeria have shut schools due to the rise in abductions and banditry in the last two months.

Some of the states include: Yobe, Zamfara, Niger, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa and Sokoto.

However, while some of the states had shut only boarding schools, others shut all schools located in local government areas that are less accessible by security agents.

Being the most affected by abductions, all the boarding schools in Zamfara have been shut till further notice.

Governor Bello Matawalle, had ordered the closure of all schools on Friday.

Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje had also ordered that 10 schools located on the outskirts of the state be shut.

Ganduje later extended the order to five health training institutions in the state.

In Yobe State on Sunday, the state government ordered boarding school students to go home amidst fear of a Boko Haram attack, exempting only SS3 students.

Katsina State had also shut all boarding schools on December 13, 2020.

In Niger where the Kangara schoolboys were abducted, the governor, Abubakar Bello, shut boarding schools in four local government areas last week.

Sokoto State, which also shares borders with Zamfara State, shut 16 boarding schools along its borders.

Some of the affected schools are Government Girls Model Secondary School, Illela; Sultan Muhammadu Tambari Arabic Secondary School, Illela; Gamji Girls College, Rabah; Government Secondary School, Gada; Government Secondary School, Gandi; and Government Secondary School, Goronyo.

Both Kaduna and Jigawa states have had to shut some schools in the last two months due to banditry, according to BBC.