Boko Haram: FG to beef up security in varsities, colleges

Worried by the spate of attacks by Boko Haram, the Federal Government Wednesday, said urgent steps have been taken to beef up security in all tertiary institutions in the country to provide protection for students and staff of the institutions.

Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau stated this at Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku, Rivers State during the impact assessment tour of public tertiary institutions in the state.

Shekarau, condemned the spate of attacks on schools in the North Eas and the activities of kidnappers in the southern part of the country.

The Minister was reacting to the revelation by the Provost of the College, Dr. Bassey Ubong that insecurity has been one of the major challenges of the College.

He disclosed that between 2010 and this year, 23 staff of the institution and their members were kidnapped with one of them presumed dead.

Ubong said: “Our critical problem is insecurity. Between 2010 and now, 23 of our staff and some members of their families were kidnapped. One is presumed dead since he did come out with the two others that were with him. We wrote to you on this matter recently”.

He pleaded with the minister that funds should be made available to the institution for full perimeter fencing of Campus 2 of the College, noting that students have been frequently attacked and robbed of valuables.

The Provost equally urged the Federal Government to intensify effort to end kidnapping in the entire Omoku community were the College is located.

However, Shekarau, who commissioned the ICT/Micro-teaching laboratory, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) project in the institution, assured that the Federal Government was taken holistic approach to end the challenges of insecurity in the country.