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Fear grips Delta community, students abandon school as gunmen abduct teachers in broad daylight

  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.


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