Katsina students abduction: Benue joins states closing boarding schools

Benue has joined the list of states ordering the closure of boarding schools following the abduction of students in Kankara local government area of Katsina.

Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue, directed that all boarding schools in the state should be shut down when he visited the Maximum-Security Custodian Centre (MSCC) in Makurdi, the state capital.

NAN quoted him on Thursday as saying the closure is a preventive measure against the abduction of students.

He was also quoted as saying “no place is safe again” in Nigeria, if hundreds of students could be abducted in Katsina, the home state of the president.

Gunmen had attacked Government Science Secondary School in Kankara on December 11.

The state government confirmed 333 students missing, and later announced that 17 of those who escaped during the attack have been found.

Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attack which it said was to discourage western education.

Since the incident, Sokoto and Zamfara states have ordered the closure of boarding secondary schools as a form of precaution.

Aminu Masari, Katsina governor, already ordered the closure of all boarding schools in the state in the aftermath of the attack.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who had arrived Katsina for a visit hours before the attack took place, has promised to ensure the safe return of the abducted students.