Bayelsa Students Protest Against Kidnappings

Students from Government Secondary School Aleibiri in Ekeremor LGA of Bayelsa State protested against school kidnappings. Photo: Facebook| Gberenemi Ozu

A nationwide protest started by the Nigeria Union of Teachers over school kidnappings in Oyo State is gaining traction. On Tuesday, some schools in Bayelsa State joined in the protests.

Videos shared on social media show schoolchildren and teachers in Bayelsa State marching together. They sang songs and demanded the quick rescue of students and teachers taken by terrorists.

In Sagbama Local Government Area, a video posted on Facebook by Golden Agagowei shows pupils from Community Primary School, Isoni. They were outside their classrooms, lined up in their blue uniforms.

The young students were chanting, “Federal Government, release our students! Federal Government, release our teachers!”

Pupils of Community Primary School Isoni in Sagbama LGA of Bayelsa State protest school kidnappings. Photo: Facebook: Golden Agagowei

In the video, the protest leader, Alex Egbagara, appealed to the presidency. He said, “We join the nationwide protest for the release of our kidnapped teachers and students in Oyo. Please, Federal Government, look into the matter and the cries of the Isoni community students.”

A similar protest took place in Ekeremor Local Government Area. Students and staff from Government Secondary School, Aleibiri, held their own march.

In a video posted on Facebook by Gberenemi Ozu, secondary students held up handwritten signs and sang the labor anthem: “Solidarity forever, we shall always fight for our right!”

Students of Government Secondary School Aleibiri in Ekeremor LGA of Bayelsa State protest school kidnappings. Photo: Facebook| Gberenemi Ozu

The videos of schoolchildren singing labor songs and protesting against insecurity have gotten a lot of attention online. Many people expressed sadness about the situation in the country.

On Facebook, Daukoru Monigha said, “May the good Lord deliver our children for us.” Wisdom Minadoki added, “Let’s keep going till our voice is heard.”

Adire S. Kientimi commented, “This protest has to include all schools, both private and public, hence NUT has failed woefully. Because the children of government officials are in private schools.”

On X (formerly Twitter), a user known as #Clinton207O wrote, “Very sad to see that children are already singing solidarity songs from a young age… Lord save our land.”

The protests in Bayelsa come during a wave of demonstrations led by the Nigeria Union of Teachers in several states.

PUNCH reports that public primary and secondary schools in Oyo State were closed on Monday. Teachers followed a directive from the Nigeria Union of Teachers to start a nationwide protest over the ongoing captivity of pupils and teachers taken from schools in Ahoro-Esienle and Yawota communities in Oriire Local Government Area.

The NUT protest reportedly saw large demonstrations on Tuesday across Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, Kogi, and Plateau states. Teachers, civil society groups, and labor activists took to the streets to condemn the rising cases of school kidnappings. They demanded the quick rescue of pupils and teachers recently taken in Oyo State.