The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has called on governments at all levels to take urgent against the menace of anti social behaviour and criminal acts going on in schools across the country.
The forum made the call in a statement on Saturday, while condemning the killing of a five year old school girl, Hanifa Abubakar by her teacher, Abdulmalik Muhammed, at a private school in Kano.
The statement signed by Emmanuel Yawe, spokesman of the forum expressed shock and revulsion over the anti social and criminal acts going on in Nigerian schools.
The forum also recalled the death in December 2021, of Sylvester Oromoni, a 12 year old student of Dowen College, Lagos, who was allegedly bullied and tutured to death by his fellow students, saying that
the epidemic of drugs addiction, cultism and death are endangering the lives of children in schools across the country.
The statement said, “The Arewa Consultative Forum 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.”
According to the forum, “Hanifa was said to have been kidnapped by her teacher and proprietor of the school who took her to his house and demanded for a N6 million ransom before killing 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 actvities.”
Yawe said, “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 commodoties 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.
“Will call on our governments to step in forcelly and nip this trend in the bud.
“The governments have to look into schools they also own. Our children have reported to us similiar 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.
“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.”
