DELE OGUNYEMI writes that the abduction of two female schoolteachers in the Ohorhe community, Delta State, and their freedom after 10 days...
DELE OGUNYEMI writes that the abduction of two female
schoolteachers in the Ohorhe community, Delta State, and their freedom after 10
days in the kidnappers’ den highlight the need for better security arrangement
in the state, especially in the rural areas
“God’s mercy kept us in the kidnappers’ den for 10 days and
we came out safe and unharmed. We were not beaten, chained or raped. Rather, we
were shown love and compassion in the thick forest. One of them told us that he
saw mercy written on our foreheads; that we are women of grace.
“They begged us for forgiveness and even gave us money when
we were released. The God of Daniel was with us. We serve a God who is too
faithful to fail. Thank you all for your prayers and concern. We are indeed grateful to God as He answered
our prayers. We love you all.”
These were the exact words of the two abducted teachers of
the Ohorhe Secondary School in the Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State,
as they breathed the air of freedom on Sunday, December 20, 2020, exactly 10
days after they were abducted.
The serenity and peace hitherto associated with Ohorhe, an
agrarian community located off the Effurun-Sapele Road was threatened on
Tuesday, December 8, 2020, when gun-wielding kidnappers attired in Nigerian
Army uniform besieged the Ohorhe Secondary School premises in broad daylight,
ordered everyone on sight to close their eyes while lying on the bare floor,
and in a commando operation, abducted two teachers to the consternation of the
defenceless villagers.
The teachers, Gladys Niemogha and Blessing Emunefe, were
kidnapped from inside the staff room of the school in an operation that lasted
a few minutes, while the invaders escaped with the captives in their standby
gold Highlander SUV with no resistance.
Since the inglorious invasion of the school by kidnappers,
the entire Ohorhe community has not been the same again. Needless repeating
that the incident will remain indelible in the minds of residents of the
community for so many years to come.
A visit by our correspondent to the Ohorhe Secondary School
before the teachers were eventually released revealed that it remained a ghost
of its old self. The school was deserted immediately after the incident just as
palpable fear of the unknown gripped the teachers and students.
They find it difficult to put behind them the trauma of
losing their beloved English Language and Mathematics teachers to abductors.
Few students and teachers, who spoke with journalists,
lamented the level of insecurity in the country, wondering why someone would
think of abducting teachers, whose duty is to impact knowledge in people.
A teacher in the community school, who identified herself as
Mrs Gloria Omonigun, expressed worry over the porosity of the school and urged
the Delta State Government to act fast in securing the release of the victims.
She had stated, “What happened in the school on the fateful
day has further demonstrated the level of insecurity in the country today,
especially in some areas where government schools are located in rural
settlements.
“If someone comes to a school and kidnaps teachers, who
taught you how to read and write, then it shows that nobody is safe in the
country anymore.
“Up till now, we have yet to get over the shock of how the
three kidnappers dressed in military camouflage and carrying guns burst into
our staff room and ordered all of us to lay down on the floor, while some of
our colleagues were being taken away.
“As we are now, we are even scared to resume school, because
we feel that they may come again to complete what they started since we don’t
even know the reason they have made the school their target in the first
place.”
She appealed to the state government and other security
agencies to come to the aid of the school and “ensure the prompt release of our
colleagues and beef up security in school environments across the state.”
The PUNCH gathered that although schools in the state were
on vacation, before the holiday, students in
Ohorhe abandoned their school following the attack by the gunmen.
Commenting on the development, the school’s head girl and
senior prefect, Elohor Williams and Justice Emefiele, respectively, regretted
the kidnap incident, saying it had heightened fear among the students and the
entire community.
They urged the state government to, as a matter of urgency,
tackle the issue of insecurity in the school so as to rebuild confidence in
both the teachers and students.
They also use the opportunity to solicit a better learning
environment in the school, noting that it lacked social amenities like water,
conducive classrooms, furniture, especially tables and chairs, as well as
toilet facilities.
But for the residents of Ohorhe, the incident has compelled
them to go to the drawing board to come up with a better security architecture
for the agrarian community.
A series of town hall meetings on security have been held,
and it has been unending vigil and surveillance over the school and the entire
neighbourhood ever since the incident.
Consequently, the community vigilante group was beefed up
and the Ohorhe Secondary School was accorded top priority with guards assigned
to keep watch over it day and night.
The Unuevworo of Ohorhe, Chief Samuel Eshenake, told The
PUNCH that the entire community was saddened by the unfortunate incident at the
school, while lamenting the agony that the kidnapped teachers were passing
through.
During one of the town hall meetings, the traditional head
of the community gave an indication that the abductors had, at last, made
contacts with families of the victims, just as he expressed the hope that the
teachers would come out alive from the kidnappers’ den.
While calling on the state government to boost security in
the school by fencing the compound and erecting a gate, Eshenake disclosed that
the community had already dispatched vigilantes to the school for day and night
surveillance.
He called on members of the community, particularly the
youth, to be security conscious more than ever before by keeping surveillance
on suspicious movements in their environment at all times, thus As of the time
of filing this report, it was jubilation galore in Ohorhe community as news
filtered in that the abducted schoolteachers had regained their freedom from
their abductors.
What our correspondent could not ascertain about the
freedom, however, was at what cost.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Hafiz Inuwa, who
had earlier confirmed the kidnap, vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.
No comments