*Panic Escalated Into Nasarawa State
By Felix Durumbah, Abuja
Scores of residents ran helter skelter, some screaming in palpable fear, many visibly shivering, sparking widespread panic today in Gbagalape, a suburb of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), following reports of an attack by alleged terrorists on LEA Primary School in the community.
An account referred to the group as “cult boys” and not terrorists or bandits.
The pandemonium even spiraled into contiguous communities, including Rugar and Mararaba, both in Nasarawa State.
Panic-stricken parents/guardians hurriedly sought out their children/wards and withdrew them from the primary school and other schools.
Obviously shaken by events of the day, the LEA school authorities reportedly shut down the institution.
Sources residing close to the school, which is located not far from the Catholic Church, Gbagalape, told People&Politics that the saga began when the assailants, some days ago, allegedly informed a particular top official of the school of their intention to pay the institution a visit.
The purpose of the visit was not given.
“Unfortunately, the official failed or forgot to inform parents not to allow their children come to school today,” one of the sources said.
However, the sources said, pandemonium spread in the school today when about 10 armed men, wearing masks and dressed in black, arrived the school “on power bikes.”
According to the sources, the sight of the men triggered unprecedented screaming by both pupils and teachers who fled for dear life in different directions -reactions conditioned by the heightening insecurity in the land.
People&Politics gathered that the pandemonium in the school escalated into nearby neighborhoods, kicking off a relentless spiral of sprinting by residents, passersby and others, most without bothering to pause and verify the situation on ground.
In the melee, some residents claimed, “a teacher and about three pupils” were allegedly kidnapped by the assailants and taken to an unknown destination.
People&Politics learnt that the scare, screaming and running extended to communities in nearby Nasarawa State with many frightened residents quickly shutting their home doors, shop operators closing their doors, commercial motorcycle operators halting services promptly as people apparently waited for the dust to clear.
Contacted by People&Politics, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for FCT Command, Josephine Adeh, said she was not aware of the incident, adding that she would call the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Nyanya Division, which oversees Gbagalape, and get back to the paper.
True to her word, after reaching the DPO, Adeh called the paper and quoted the DPO as saying “it was a false alarm.”
But contacted too, an inspector of education, who would not want to be named as the officer is not permitted to talk to the press, told People&Politics that while the attack occurred, “nobody was kidnapped.”
“People were scared and fled for their lives. The school has been shut because of the incident and because parents hurriedly withdrew all children from the school,” the official disclosed.
Also contacted, as the paper pressed to verify exactly what happened, Head of Information, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Mr Emeka James, said he was not aware of the incident, but asked for time to find out.
All LEA primary schools are under the purview of Area Councils (equivalent of Local Governments in states).
As of press time, James had not called.
A visit to the school, at about noon, showed that it was not in session.
Residents living close by confirmed the attack, but while some claimed a teacher and an unidentified number of pupils were indeed abducted in the process, others merely said “honestly, I don’t know and I doubt if anyone was kidnapped, but,as you can see, we are all afraid here because of the high insecurity in the country.”
