BREAKING: Lagos Considers Closure of Schools Over #EndSARS Protests

The Lagos state government is considering closing all schools as protests over police brutality continues.

This was made public by Head of Public Affairs, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Kayode Abayomi.

He said the state may ask students to “stay at home for now” over the ongoing #EndSARS protests across the country.

This is as academic activities were affected in some schools in the state on Monday as protests against police brutality and bad governance continue.

When contacted on the telephone, Abayomi, told The PUNCH that the Ministry of Education is awaiting a directive from the governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to order the schools’ closure.

He said, “We are considering the option of asking the students to stay at home, for now, pending when the protests will be over.

“It is at the consideration level. We are waiting for the governor’s directive in that aspect. As soon as we get the directive to go ahead, we (can) then ask them to stay at home for now.”

The PUNCH had reported that the Lagos State Government approved that both public and private schools in the state can fully resume from Monday, October 19, 2020.

Schools in the state were previously closed to curb the spread of coronavirus in the state.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo, who made the announcement in a press statement last Monday, said the physical resumption, which was for the 2020/2021 academic session, would include pupils in pre-primary, daycare, kindergarten, and nursery schools.

The PUNCH gathered that many students and teachers encountered difficulty in getting to schools in the state on Monday.

There was also violence in the Yaba area of the state when some hoodlums attacked operatives of the Rapid Response Squad.

Some of the pupils and teachers trekked long distances to get to schools.

This is as #EndSARS protesters mounted roadblocks in strategic locations in the state in a bid to express their displeasure.

A public school teacher, Ajeigbe K, said, “I was in school but many of my colleagues could not come; especially those from Agege, Ikorodu and Mile 12.

“A few pupils who stay close to the school came and those of us available taught them.”

A pupil of Government Technical College, Agidingbi, Olasunkanmi, added, “They (protesters) blocked the road. When I was coming from Ebute-Metta, I got vehicles in the morning, but I was stranded when I was returning home. The transport fares also increased so I went to stay with my sister that stays around my school.”