‘Children now pawns in ransom economy’ – Peter Obi on Kogi school attack

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, has condemned a bandit attack on Government Secondary School, Iluke, in Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State, describing the incident as a heartbreaking reflection of Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.

DAILY POST had reported that the incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday when bandits struck, killing the vice principal of the school alongside two others and kidnapped three students.

Reacting to the incident in a statement released via his X handle on Wednesday, Obi lamented that children have become “pawns in a deadly ransom economy,” noting that the attack came barely three weeks after more than 40 schoolchildren and their teachers were abducted and remain in captivity.

He wrote: “Sad: Our Children Are Now Pawns in a Deadly Ransom Economy.

“It’s heartbreaking to report yet another bandit attack on a school, barely three weeks after over 40 schoolchildren and their teachers were abducted and are still languishing in the forest.

“The security situation in Kogi State has taken another tragic turn with a brutal bandit attack on Government Secondary School, Iluke, in Kabba-Bunu LGA. Armed bandits disguised in military uniforms invaded the school during an ongoing WAEC examination, killed the Vice Principal, Mr. Gani Anifowose, and attempted a mass abduction of students.

“Reports from the scene indicate that local security personnel and vigilantes actively resisted the attackers and frustrated their abduction attempt.

“Making educational institutions soft targets is a direct assault on the nation’s future. It creates a psychological barrier to school enrolment and worsens Nigeria’s out-of-school children crisis, disproportionately forcing young girls out of formal education due to fear. There is nothing more heartbreaking for a nation than being unable to protect its children.

“My heartfelt condolences go to the family of the Vice Principal, who lost his life while gallantly defending the children entrusted to his care. May God grant his soul eternal repose.”