Kidnapping: Ogun approves employment of security personnel for schools

The Ogun government has announced the approval for the employment of security operatives for public schools in the state.

Dapo Abiodun, the state governor, disclosed this on Wednesday when he received members of the house of representatives committee on basic education, led by its chairman, Julius Ihonvbere.

Abiodun described the measure as a proactive step in the light of the recent kidnapping of students in some parts of the country.

“As a responsible government, we have approved employment of security men in all our schools. We do not want to be reactive on the issue of security in our schools,” Abiodun said.

“We want to ensure that our children and teachers are safe while in school.”

The development comes days after the abduction of two female students of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) — Precious Adeyemo and Abiola Oyefule — from the Ayetoro campus in Ago Iwoye, Ogun state.

The students were released two days after they were kidnapped.

Meanwhile, the state has also announced plans to rehabilitate 600 schools across the state before the end of his first term in office.

According to Abiodun, the projects are part of efforts to ensure a conducive environment for teaching and learning.

“In spite of the much we have done, each time I see some news items on the television or newspaper about one school whose roofs are about to fall, I ask myself ‘when will we cover all these schools?'” he said.

“The task to rehabilitate the schools to ensure conducive environment for the children to learn remains our priority. Our target is that by the end of the first four years in office, we will have given about 600 schools a facelift.

“We are also in the process of awarding the construction of 60,000 furniture contract, so that the children can sit comfortably while learning.”