Pupils and students in Bayelsa State on Tuesday joined the nationwide protest against kidnappings by marching through their communities to demand the immediate release of abducted students and teachers.

Viral videos showed children from Community Primary School, Isoni in Sagbama LGA lining up in their blue uniforms outside classrooms. The pupils chanted “Federal Government, release our students! Federal Government, release our teachers!” as teachers stood beside them. Protest leader Alex Egbagara, speaking in one of the videos, appealed to the presidency: “We join the nationwide protest for the release of our kidnapped teachers and students in Oyo. Please, Federal Government, look into the matter and the cries of the Isoni community students.”

A similar march held in Ekeremor LGA where staff and students of Government Secondary School, Aleibiri staged their own protest. The secondary students held handwritten placards and chanted the labour anthem “Solidarity forever, we shall always fight for our right!”. Teachers at both schools said they were participating to show solidarity with colleagues in captivity and to draw attention to rising insecurity around schools.

The Bayelsa protests gained momentum as NUT’s nationwide rally spread to Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Delta, Anambra and the FCT on the same day. Teachers and students across the states used placards with messages like “Set our teachers, pupils free from captivity” and “Nigeria, our blackboards are turning into graveyards” to condemn attacks on educational institutions.

The NUT has warned that continued abductions of teachers and learners threaten the future of education in Nigeria. Union leaders say schools cannot function while educators and students live in fear, and they are urging the Federal Government and security agencies to intensify rescue efforts.

Sources verified: Punch Newspapers.