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Boko Haram stops over 15,000 pupils from schooling, which excludes thousands killed …destroys over 200 schools so far.

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Activities  of the Boko Haram sect has resulted in no fewer than 15,000 pupils  dropping out of school in Borno State in the last one year, a  non-governmental organisation, ActionAid Nigeria, has said.The group, which made this known on  Thursday, also claimed that the actions of the sect had led to the  destruction of no fewer than 800 classrooms and 200 schools in Borno and  Yobe states respectively.The disclosure came as the NGO also  described the killing of 59 pupils of the Federal Government College,  Buni Yadi, Yobe State as “a heinous crime and a violation of the rights  of children to life and education”.According to the Country Director of AA,  Dr. Hussaini Abdu, in a statement, on Thursday, since February 2013,  over 15,000 children have stopped attending classes in Borno State.Abdu said, “In the past eight months, over 100 students have been killed in different attacks on schools in the North-East.The perpetrators should, of course, be  brought to justice, but the government, at all levels, must also be held  accountable; it is their duty to protect the lives and education of  children. A duty they are utterly failing to uphold.”Declaring that the North-East was  already behind the rest of the country in education enrolment, retention  and completion, the AA noted that security challenges in the zone would  undermine education of their children.He added, “More than 200 schools have  been destroyed in Yobe and over 800 classrooms destroyed in Borno State.  Since February 2013, over 15,000 children have stopped attending  classes in Borno State alone. Every child has the right to learn in an  environment free of danger.“ActionAid Nigeria demands that the  Federal Government upholds its obligations as a signatory to the  Convention on the Rights of the Child and immediately implement special  protection mechanism to safeguard the lives and education of our  children, particularly those in the vulnerable North-East.“As Nigerian citizens, we must  consciously hold the government at all levels to account and demand that  the government go beyond rhetoric and take concrete steps to end this  senseless violence.”Meanwhile, the National Human Rights  Commission has called for the transfer of pupils in the eight unity  schools in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe to other schools outside the region, The News Agency of Nigeria has reported.The Chairman, Governing Council of the  commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, made this known in a statement on  Thursday following the killing of some pupils of the Federal Government  College, Buni-Yadi, Yobe.  Gunmen, suspected to be members of the Boko  Haram sect, invaded the school on Monday, killing no fewer than 50  pupils.“In the interim, proposals for the  transfer of children in the eight Unity Schools in Adamawa, Borno and  Yobe to other schools outside the region should be taken seriously,” the  statement said.The commission also called on the  National Assembly to urgently reconvene plenary in memory of the pupils  and others that died in the ongoing crisis in the North-East.Odinkalu, who described the incident as a tragedy, added that the perpetrators clearly did not wish the country well.“Words are insufficient to comfort parents of the affected pupils as the killing of children is any parent’s worst nightmare.’’He said it was painful that the killings took place while the pupils were exercising their right to educational pursuit.“The pursuit of education cannot be a cause for the mass murder of innocent children.“These children were killed while  exercising their right, and education is a basic right guaranteed in the  Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the African Charter on Human and  Peoples’ Rights, and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of  Nigeria,’’ Odinkalu said.He said it was disheartening to note  that children, who were symbols of the country’s unity, had become  sacrificial offerings in some people’s project toward disunity.The President, Nigeria Bar Association,  Mr. Okey Wali, also called on President Goodluck Jonathan, security  chiefs and governors of the affected states to intensify efforts in  addressing security challenges in the country.“We call on the President Goodluck  Jonathan, the service and security chiefs and governors of the affected  states to intensify efforts to address the increasing security  challenges that we are currently facing in Nigeria.“This carnage must stop,’’ the statement read.
by Friday Olokor
(From Biafra Galaxy)

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