* Our schools are safe, remain open, FCTA assures
The Management of Nigerian Law School and Veritas University in Bwari have shut down the campuses.
Their action followed a letter the institutions reportedly received from bandits who threatened to attack and kidnap their students.
Some of the students have returned home on account of the forced and sudden closure of the schools, both located in Bwari in Bwari Area Council.
Bwari is about an hour’s drive to the Abuja City Centre and it is surrounded by a wide expanse of forest.
The idyllic settlement shares boundaries with Niger State en route Kaduna.
It is feared that bandits can easily operate from the forest, launch an onslaught and retreat with their victims.
A security expert working in the area confirmed the incident but said “no brief has yet been received by the police ” on the development
He said: “As we all know, Sabon Wuse has a shortcut that links to Bwari, where there is a recent threat on Law School and Veritas.
“The whimper of these guys has now being fueled and they are moving fearlessly for fatter targets.
“Based on these, we will experience sharp increase in abduction/kidnapping mainly VIPs children and family members on route in and out to school or office.
However, the acting Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Education Secretary, Leramoh Abdulrazak, vouched for the safety of students in all its schools in the Federal Capital Territory.
The secretary, who gave this assurance during a press conference by the management of the Education Secretariat, said it is imperative to again allay the fears of parents, guardians and stakeholders of their wards’ safety in the schools operating in the FCT.
He explained that the insecurity challenges being experienced across the country has been of utmost concern to the FCT Authority, adding that it has continued to put together efforts and strategies to safeguard its territory.
He stated further that schools in the FCT, which resumed the third term academic session last month, have been running smoothly with daily and intensive monitoring and inspection mechanism in place by its various departments mandated with such responsibilities.
He said no security breach has been recorded in FCT, debunking media reports that FCT schools have been closed.