APAPA BLASTS: Lagos Issues First-Line Order To Public Schools; Rolls Out Terrorism Containment Measures

Following the bomb blasts
which took place in Apapa
on June 25, the Lagos
State Government
yesterday [July 14] issued
a first-line order to all
head teachers and
principals in the state’s
public schools on how to
forestall terrorist attacks.
The state government
rolled out the security
containment measures
about 24 hours after Boko
Haram, claimed
responsibility for the two
explosions that occurred
at a fuel depot in Apapa.
The state’s Head of
Service, Mrs. Josephine
Williams and Special
Adviser on Education, Mr.
Fatai Olukoga, rolled out
the new measures at an
interactive session with
the head teachers and
principals of primary and
secondary schools held at
the Nigerian Union of
Teachers (NUT) pavilion
in Alausa. At the
interactive session,
Williams expressed the
state government’s grave
concerns over the security
of pupils and students in
their schools, noting that
everything should be done
“to prevent security
breaches in public
schools.
She tasked the school
managers in the state to
be vigilant and security
conscious, which she
said, had become
imperative due to the
prevailing security
challenges being
experienced in some parts
of the country.
Likewise, the special
adviser said the lives of
the pupils and students
“are entrusted into the
care of the school
managers from the time
they assembled in the
schools in the morning till
afternoon when schools
close for the day. Hence,
the managers should be
security conscious at all
times so that the state will
not experience serious
security breaches as
being experienced in
some states.”
He, therefore, urged the
school managers not “to
allow any strange person
or occurrences happen
within their school without
challenging such a person
and at the same time
reporting such activity to
the appropriate security
agency that are better
trained and equipped to
handle such an
occurrence. “I wish to
specifically charge
principals of boarding
schools not to release
their students to anybody
who is unknown to them
and the child, even the
drivers except their
parents. The managers of
public schools should
always be conscious of
the next person beside
you. Government is
concerned about our
safety, security and the
general wellbeing of every
Lagos residents,” he said.
Williams, however, said
the call on the managers
of public schools “to be
security-conscious was
not informed by any
imminent security
breaches in the state but
the need for people to be
security-conscious at this
particular time in the
nation’s development
cannot be over
emphasised.
“It is imperative for
everybody to learn from
the experience of what is
happening in other states
so that such will not
happen in this state. The
managers of the state’s
public schools should
continue to inform the
pupils and students to be
more conscious of what
happens within their
surroundings.” She, also,
urged residents to desist
from spreading unverified
security-related text
messages “to their
friends, family members
or neighbours as they
cannot do anything about
the contents of the
message, but rather
forward such messages to
security agencies who
can do something about
such text messages".