300,000 Students displaced in Benue State

The Executive Secretary of Teaching Service Board (TSB) in Benue State, Professor Wilfred Uji, yesterday said that over 300,000 school children have been displaced following gunmen attacks on their rural communities in different areas of the state since this year’s New Year.

Uji told newsmen in Makurdi the huge number of children affected consisted of 200,000 secondary school students and over 100,000 primary school pupils in the three local government areas of Logo, Guma and Ukum respectively.

He said most of the affected school children were now taking refuge at the several Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in eight locations across the state.

The TSB boss also worried that other local government areas such as Agatu, Gwer West, Okpokwu and Apa were not also spared by the gunmen who had done grave destruction to educational facilities across the state.

Uji expressed concern over many state government-owned institutions currently shut down in affected communities following the attacks and called on the Federal Government and all relevant authorities to act before the future of children involved was ruined.

“There is a challenge for northern Nigeria in terms of educational development in the next 50 years. The future is under attack. Education is compromised completely in the situation we find ourselves,” he said.