FG orders immediate closure of 47 Unity Colleges over worsening security
The federal government has ordered the immediate closure of 47 of Nigeria’s Unity Colleges, citing rising insecurity and the need to forestall potential attacks.
The directive, contained in a circular released on Friday, said the decision was approved by Tunji Alausa, the minister of education. The circular was signed by Binta Abdulkadir, director of senior secondary education, on behalf of the minister.
Principals of the affected schools were instructed to ensure strict compliance with the order.
Nigeria is currently grappling with a widespread and complex security crisis, notably marked by a resurgence of mass abductions of schoolchildren across the north-west and north-central regions.
In the span of just one week in November, two major incidents were recorded.
On November 17, gunmen attacked the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, abducting about 25 students and killing the school’s vice-principal.
Four days later, on November 21, armed men invaded St. Mary’s School, a Catholic school in the Papiri community of Agwara LGA in Niger State. The number of students abducted in that attack has yet to be disclosed.
