Bayelsa schoolchildren lead protests against kidnappings

‎The ongoing nationwide protest declared by the Nigeria Union of Teachers over the school abductions in Oyo State gained significant momentum on Tuesday as some schools in Bayelsa State reportedly joined the mass action.
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‎Viral videos circulating on social media showed schoolchildren and teachers in Bayelsa State marching, chanting solidarity songs, and demanding the immediate rescue of students and teachers currently held by terrorists.
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‎In Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, a video shared on Facebook by Golden Agagowei showed pupils of Community Primary School, Isoni, out of their classrooms and lined up in their blue uniforms.
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‎The young children were seen chanting, “Federal Government, release our students! Federal Government, release our teachers!”
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‎Speaking in the video, Alex Egbagara, the protest leader, made an appeal to the presidency, saying, “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.”
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‎A similar demonstration was reported in Ekeremor Local Government Area, where staff and students of Government Secondary School, Aleibiri, were said to have staged their own march.
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‎In a video posted on Facebook by Gberenemi Ozu, a crowd of secondary students held up handwritten placards and chanted the popular labour anthem: “Solidarity forever, we shall always fight for our right!”
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‎The videos of schoolchildren chanting labour songs and protesting insecurity have sparked reactions across digital platforms, with citizens expressing grief over the state of the nation.
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‎On Facebook, Daukoru Monigha wrote, “May the good Lord deliver our children for us,” while Wisdom Minadoki encouraged the momentum, writing, “Let’s keep going till our voice is heard.”
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‎“This protest has to include all schools, both private and public, hence NUT has failed woefully. Because the children of government officials are in private schools,” Adire S. Kientimi remarked.
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‎On X (formerly Twitter), a user identified as #Clinton207O wrote, “Very sad to see that children are already singing solidarity songs from a young age… Lord save our land.”
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‎The protests in Bayelsa coincide with a wave of demonstrations led by the Nigeria Union of Teachers across several states
‎News  reports that public primary and secondary schools across Oyo State were shut on Monday as teachers complied with a directive by the Nigeria Union of Teachers to begin a nationwide protest over the continued captivity of pupils and teachers abducted from schools in Ahoro-Esienle and Yawota communities in Oriire Local Government Area of the state.
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‎The NUT protest reportedly saw widespread demonstrations on Tuesday across Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, Kogi, and Plateau states, as teachers, civil society groups, and labour activists flooded the streets to condemn the rising cases of school abductions, decrying the lack of safety in educational institutions and demanding the immediate rescue of pupils and teachers recently kidnapped in Oyo State.
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