Yobe school killings

Reports also said the gunmen set some of the school buildings ablaze. The Mamudo incident was the third such attack since May 14, 2013, when the federal government declared a state of emergency in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states. Thousands of troops were deployed to the three states to combat the Boko Haram insurgency. On […]

Reports also said the gunmen set some of the school buildings ablaze. The Mamudo incident was the third such attack since May 14, 2013, when the federal government declared a state of emergency in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states. Thousands of troops were deployed to the three states to combat the Boko Haram insurgency.
On June 16, gunmen opened fire on a secondary school in Damaturu, killing seven students and two teachers. Two of the attackers were also killed, according to the army. A day later, gunmen shot dead nine students as they sat for the school certificate examination in a private school in Maiduguri. The Boko Haram group had previously conducted a rash of attacks on schools, burning structures down but rarely targeting students.
The motive for the current wave of targeted killing of students and teachers is not clear, although the sect’s philosophy is grounded on the principle that Western education is forbidden. Indeed, the sect’s spiritual head, Abubakar Shekau, in a new video post, said the group ‘supported’ the Mamudo attack, without directly taking responsibility for the massacre. “We fully support the attack on this Western education school in Mamudo,” a translated version of his remarks in the video quoted him as saying.
As part of the military’s strategy in containing the insurgency, telephone communication was cut in all three states affected by the emergency measures. For that reason, the governor of Yobe State, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam argued that the absence of communication aggravated the problem, suggesting that it could have contributed to the scale of the Mamudo massacre. The governor noted that residents who saw the fleeing gunmen could have alerted the soldiers of the Joint Task Force if the cell phone services were available.
It is a deeply troubling situation to be in, because paradoxically, the shutting down of telephone lines has actually crippled terrorist attacks usually carried out through Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in the affected states including Yobe.  That is why the insurgents now aim at soft targets, such as schools.
Following the horrendous act, Governor Gaidam ordered the closure of all secondary schools in the state, to give authorities time to figure out how to better protect the lives of students and teachers.
The widespread outrage that greeted the gruesome attack is a fitting rejection of the bestiality of those who carried it out. It needs a clear national response to deal with the crime; not wringing hands in apparent helplessness. As President Goodluck Jonathan expressed his revulsion, he cursed the perpetrators, saying “they will certainly go to hell”. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Jama’atu Nasril Islam have called for independent investigations into the killing. Many countries, including Canada and France as well as national and international rights groups, have equally condemned the brutal killing, calling for an inquiry. Meanwhile, the army has dispatched a team to Mamudo to investigate the incident.
While the claim by government that the wave of insurgency in the northeast of the country has been brought under control may indeed contain some substance, it is a surprise that in almost two months of suffocating military operation, the insurgents could still carry out such brazen and deadly acts. Soldiers deployed under the emergency rule should not only rely on force to get at the insurgents and smoke them out; intelligence is vital, and the cooperation of the local population is central to attaining that goal. The military, stretched as it already is, remains responsible under the emergency provisions for the security of the affected states.
While the closure of schools is an appropriate response for now, the move should be a temporary measure meant to prevent further tragedies like the Mamudo one. Keeping the schools shut for a long time would only play into the hands of Boko Haram.  
As a preventive measure, government should to provide perimeter fencing for all schools as additional level of security before they are reopened. The federal and Yobe state governments should provide succor to the families of those students and teachers killed in Mamudo and other areas since the emergency rule began.