The Kwara State Government and the state police command have resolved to beef up security around Oyun Baptist High School Ijagbo that is expected to resume academic activities on Friday.
The school was closed down by the state government on February 3, 2022, following a crisis between Muslim and Christian parents who besieged the school to defend their respective faiths on the controversy that greeted the wearing of hijab by female students in the school.
At least one person was reportedly feared killed while 11 others were injured during the crisis.
No fewer than 150 final year students of the senior secondary school, who were expected to sit for their West Africa School Certificate Examination, have been the casualties of the closure.
But the state government on Wednesday announced the reopening of the school with effect from Friday.
When asked about efforts put in place to forestall further break down of law and order in the school, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ajayi Okasanmi, told The PUNCH on the telephone that more policemen have been drafted to a police station near the school to protect the people including students, teachers and parents around the area.
“We have a police station around the school and it is well equipped with human and material resources, but we have deployed more personnel to the station to provide security for the people in Ijagbo and its environ,” Okasanmi said.
On the specific number of policemen added to the ones at the station, the PPRO promised to find out and revert.
He had not done so as of the time of filing this report.
Also, a government official, who does not want his name in print, told The PUNCH that security had been beefed up around the area.
“The first duty of the government is the protection of lives and property. So, the government is on top of providing security for both the students and the people of Ijagbo so that there will no longer be any breach of security around the area,” he said.
The Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development, Mrs Mary Adeosun, announced the reopening of the school in a statement on Wednesday.
The statement read in part, “The ministry’s decision to reopen the school is one of the government’s multi-prong approaches to return normalcy to the school.
“Consequently, all teachers and students are directed to return to their classrooms while the government’s White Paper committee continues the efforts to address pending issues related to the recent disturbance in the public school.
“Similarly, the ministry restates government’s position that any Muslim schoolgirl who desires to wear hijab is allowed to do so in all public schools, including Oyun Baptist High School Ijagbo, which is owned by the state government and run with public resources.”
The government urged all stakeholders in the area to give peace a chance and to respect the law, warning that “the government will not hesitate to shut the school again, among other things, if anything threatens the safety of the little children.”
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