From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Following the kidnapping and killing of a 5-year old pupil, Hanifa Abubakar by her teacher in a private school in Kano, and other similar occurrences across the country, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has tasked the Federal Government to put up necessary measures to arrest the situation and save students and pupils from reoccurrence of such inhumanity to fellow human beings.
In a statement on Saturday by the National Publicity Secretary of ACF, Emmanuel Yawe, the Forum expressed shock over anti-social and criminal acts going on in some Nigerian schools.
“This press release serves as a warming to the government to save the Nigerian children who have been trapped in this web of inhumanity created by school teachers, proprietors, administrators.
“The Arewa Consultative wishes to express its shock and revulsion over the anti social and criminal acts going on in Nigerian schools. These border on bullying, murder, kidnappings, homosexuality, cultism etc.
“The latest of these cases of horror is the alleged kidnap and murder of five year old pupil, Hanifa Abubakar by her teacher Abdulmalik Muhammed at a private school in Kwanar Dakatar in Kano state.
“He is alleged to have kidnapped the young girl, his student and taken her to his house where he demanded for a ransom of six million Naira after which he killed her.
‘This is a horror story comparable to what happened in December last year when Sylvester Oromoni a 12 year old student of Dowen College was bullied and then tutured to death by his fellow students because he refused to join them in their cult activities.
“The Arewa Consultative Forum would like to call the attention of the authorities to this new epidemic of drugs, brutality, cults and death which is taking over all schools across the country and endangering the lives of our daughters and sons and the future of our country.
“These horrors are not limited to private schools. But we are particularly concerned about what goes on in private schools because they take their students as commodities which should be traded for money.
“This is a horrible trend that will not only destroy the future of these innocent children but that of our Nigeria. We call on our governments to step in forcefully and nip this trend in the bud.
“The governments have to look into schools they also own. Our children have reported to us similar acts of bullying in government and even in military schools where they are being bullied to join cult groups or indulge in homosexual acts or adopt homosexuality as a way of time”. The statement said.