Armed robbers on Friday morning attacked Government Secondary School Unguwar Sarki, in Kaduna metropolis and took away packaged examination papers meant for SS3 students who were to about write the National Examination Council of Nigeria (NECO) final year examinations thinking it was money.
The gunmen who stormed the school asked the NECO supervisor to surrender the exam papers even though she tried to explain to them it was question papers.
It was gathered they snatched the wrapped examination papers and answer sheets and left.
The principal of the school, Hajiya Bilkisu Aliyu, said in an interview with newsmen that the gunmen trailed the NECO supervisor from a commercial bank along Alkali Road where she had gone to collect the exams questions and answer sheets.
“Thinking it was money, they demanded she hand over the bulk of the wrapped papers to them and threatened to shoot her.
“They were told it was not money but they would not listen. They snatched the papers and disappeared into thin air,” she declared.
Meanwhile, a parent, Sanusi Umar whose child was among those writing the senior exams said, “What we heard initially was bandits had come to kidnap our students. So hundreds of parents stormed the school.
“However, on getting to the school, we were told it was armed robbers that came to take away wrapped examination thinking it was money.
“I want to call on the government and security agencies to beef up security in schools since these criminals are now targeting our schools.”
Meanwhile, it was gathered that the school and NECO staff had to mobilse exam papers from other centres to enable the students to write the affected papers under strict security surveillance.
Recall that the Kaduna State Government had earlier closed all public and private schools for three weeks to allow it plan for a new academic calendar.
As at the time of filing the report, there was no statement from the state ministry of Education about the development.
(NIgerian Tribune)