Bayelsa NUT Stages Warning Protest Over Oyo Abduction, Warns Of Nationwide Strike By Chris Mark 

Bayelsa NUT Stages Warning Protest Over Oyo Abduction, Warns Of Nationwide Strike

By Chris Mark 

The Bayelsa State wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, on Tuesday staged a warning protest in Yenagoa over the abduction of teachers and students in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State, warning that failure to secure their release could trigger a nationwide strike.

The protest, which kicked off at 9:30 a.m., started from the OMPADEC Field, Amarata. Teachers marched through the popular Mbiama-Yenagoa Road and terminated at Government House, Yenagoa.

Protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as “Stop the kidnapping of teachers and students,” “Release our abducted teachers and students,” and “Enough of bloodshed in our schools.”

The march followed a late-night directive from the NUT national leadership. State Chairman Comrade Richman Otobo said the union was “showing our dismay of what happened in Oyo State.” He condemned growing insecurity in schools, insisting that “teachers are not slaves” and their lives should not be “put at stake.”

“We want the Federal Government to ensure those children and teachers in captivity are released on time,” Otobo said. He described Tuesday’s action as a one-day warning protest to test “the proactiveness of the Federal Government,” adding that the national body may declare a total strike if the victims remain in captivity.

Otobo noted reports that some victims were being maltreated and appealed for intervention.

At the protest, Comrade Akada Emomotimi, Chairman of NUT Sagbama LGA branch, broke down in tears. “Every day we are crying. They should release these children for us. They should release our teachers,” she said. “Without teachers there is no nation.”

The Bayelsa NUT joined the coordinated protest ordered by NUT National President Comrade Audu Titus Amba and Secretary General Dr. Clinton Ikpitibo.