Tension is now brewing at Government School, Ijibor in Bekwara Local Government Area of northern Cross River State has remain frightened to resume classes, nearly 48 hours after three armed men allegedly invaded the school on Friday in an attempt to abduct pupils.
Speaking to newsmen in an interview Rev. Fr. Thomas Onabe of St. Mary Quasi Parish, Ugboro–Ijibor, who mobilised the community members to confront and repel the suspected abductors, confirmed that both pupils and their parents are still too afraid to return to school for fear that the attackers may return.
According to Onabe, local women staged a nude protest, demanding protection for their children.
Recounting the incident, Rev. Fr. Onabe said parishioners had alerted him, prompting him to rush to the school with some security personnel.
“My members and other eyewitnesses in the Ijibor community told me they saw three heavily armed Fulani men enter the school premises.
Having heard of kidnappings of schoolchildren in other parts of the country, the people mobilised quickly and raised an alarm, which startled the armed men,” he said.
He explained that the suspects fled into the large forest behind the school—an area not far from the Ogoja Army Barracks—when they saw the growing crowd.
“Alongside community youths armed with sticks, knives, and other local weapons, we entered the forest and combed it for nearly three hours but could not trace them.
It is important to note that there are many peaceful Fulani herdsmen who live in that forest with their cattle, but these three entered the school armed and with hostile intent,” he added.
Onabe noted that the community’s bold move to search the forest has boosted morale among locals.
However, he said the women who protested remain traumatised and continue to express fear and distress over the invasion.
He called for sustained security presence in the affected schools, disclosing that both army and police personnel had visited the community.
Due to the lingering panic, the community has ordered that schools remain closed, even though pupils were in the middle of examinations.
When contacted, the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer of the state command, SP Igri Ewa, said the police will soon issue an official statement regarding the incident.
