NSCDC frustrates herdsmen’s planned abduction of school children in Benue

A grand plot by gunmen, suspected to be of Fulani extraction to attack and abduct students of Fr. Angus Frazer Memorial High School located in Welfare Quarters, Makurdi, the Benue State capital was averted by officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

The insurgents were said to have made an incursion into the school in the late hours of Tuesday and began indiscriminate shooting while the students were asleep.

The guerrilla attack which bore a replica of the Chibok Schoolgirls scenario, was however unsuccessful as the insurgents were repelled by a team of NSCDC officers stationed at the school by its management.

New Telegraph gathered that no casualty was reported among the students, but one of the officers who was said to have been shot and his gun reportedly taken away is currently receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Center, Makurdi.

The Director of Social Communication in the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, Very Revd. Fr. Moses Iorapuu, confirmed the attack, saying if not for the professional handling of the situation by the NSCDC team, the situation would have been catastrophic.

Fr. Iorapuu also announced the suspension of all activities stressing that the decision to shut down the school “was a preemptive measure to ensure the safety of our children and avoid what could have been an unimaginable disaster.”

“The decision to suspend activities was a preemptive measure to ensure the safety of our children and avoid what could have been an unimaginable disaster.

“At a meeting called by Bishop Anagbe of Makurdi Diocese, his consulors, the education team, and the management of the Via Christi Society unanimously agreed that the lives of the children should be considered above any other consideration in this case.

“The Director of Catholic Education Services was also mandated to reach out to the relevant stakeholders”.

Very Revd. Fr. Moses Iorapuu noted that the area where the attack occurred is notorious for killings and kidnappings by suspected herdsmen, and directed priests and those in pastoral units to tighten security around their premises and further appealed to relevant authorities to ensure the safety of life and property of the citizens.