Fears of Boko Haram Raids; Borno State Closes Schools

As the Boko Haram attacks continue despite the state of emergency rule in the three north-eastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, imposed by the Nigerian president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the Borno state government has closed schools because of fears of attacks by the Islamist militant group, also known as Boko Haram, which Amnesty International said killed at least 170 students and teachers last year.

Staff and pupils “were requested to embark on holiday following a directive from the State Ministry of Education,” Hadiza Mohammed, a teacher at Moduganari primary school in Maiduguri, the state capital, said by phone yesterday. “The government does not wish to risk losing any students in the rural areas.”

Schools were closed in the state on March 17 as teachers and students said, after a series of attacks in rural areas, including a school massacre in neighboring Yobe state last month that drew international condemnation. 

Islamist Boko Haram militants burned down more than 50 schools in the region in the past year, according to the Borno State Education Ministry.

Boko Haram, which means “Western education is a sin” in the Hausa language, is fighting to impose Islamic law in Nigeria, the Africa’s biggest oil producer. 

“The closure of schools will have an adverse effect on the education of my children, but what I believe is paramount is the security of their lives,” Modu Nganzai, a 45-year-old father of three, said by phone from Maiduguri.

The Borno state commissioner of education, Inuwa Kubo, and commissioner of information, Inuwa Bwala, didn’t answer calls seeking comment.

Bloomberg