The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Monday suspended the resumption of schools across the state indefinitely.
The governor, who announced this at a stakeholders’ meeting in Kaduna, said the government took the decision due to the ongoing aggressive military operation against bandits in most parts of the state.
The meeting was attended by members of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), as well as professional and community-based associations in the state.
El-Rufai said the military operation was aimed at flushing the bandits out from their hideouts.
He stressed that the government was committed to protecting vulnerable children from being attacked by fleeing bandits who were already feeling the superior firepower of the military.
The governor said the military has deployed more troops to the state for the operation and warned the residents to be vigilant and mindful of unknown faces in their midst.
Kaduna is one of the hottest spots for bandits’ activities in the northern part of the country.
Several students of public and private educational institutions in the state had been abducted by criminals in the last few months.
The latest was the July 5 abduction of 121 students of Bethel Baptist High School in Maraban Damishi, Chikun local government area of the state.