The Kwara State Government has ordered the immediate closure of all schools, including boarding facilities, in five Local Government Areas (LGAs) due to a surge in deadly bandit attacks. The affected LGAs are Ifelodun, Ekiti, Irepodun, Isin, and Oke-Ero.
This decision was taken to protect schoolchildren and prevent kidnappers from using them as human shields amid intensified security operations. The closure follows recent attacks, including one on a church in Eruku, Ekiti LGA, where two worshippers were killed and at least 30 people abducted, and another in Bokungi community, Edu LGA, where three people were killed and four kidnapped.
The Kwara State Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Dr. Lawal Olohungbebe, stated that proactive security measures have been activated in all schools across the affected LGAs and will remain in place until further security clearance is received.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, assured Nigerians that security agencies are working round the clock to rescue abducted victims and neutralize threats. Parents in the affected areas have been directed to withdraw their children from schools until further notice ¹.
