NAPPS President Accuses Ebonyi Government of Recruiting Cultists into School Closure Committee in Ezza North

The Chairman of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Ebonyi State Chapter, Mr. Felix Nomeh, has accused the Ebonyi State Government of recruiting suspected cultists into the committee set up to enforce the closure of illegal and substandard schools in Ezza North Local Government Area.

Nomeh, who also serves as a member of the school closure task force, made the allegation while addressing journalists in Abakaliki, alleging that some members of the committee have turned the exercise into an avenue for intimidation and harassment. According to him, the committee was initially established to identify and shut down illegal schools across the local government area but has since been infiltrated by questionable elements.

"There is a new policy on the closure of illegal and substandard schools, and the team here is to enforce that order,” Nomeh said. “In Ezza North, where I come from, I am one of the committee members. The Secretary of the Local Education Authority and the Area Inspector of Education (AIE) are also members. We have been commissioned to ensure that illegal and substandard schools are closed in Ezza North.” He explained that during the enforcement exercise, some school proprietors and teachers were arrested. However, he noted that the teachers were only striving to earn a living and did not deserve to be detained. " had compassion and asked that the teachers be released while we focused on the proprietors who were actually at fault,” he said. “That is where the problem started. I didn’t know that the driver and some of the cultists brought into the committee were the ones now threatening to kill me for asking for the release of those five teachers.” Mr. Nomeh further alleged that the activities of the task force have gone beyond the scope of enforcement, claiming that he has been subjected to threats and intimidation since he questioned the committee’s methods. "One of the teenagers, a student, was arrested, and along the way, the Civil Defence leader intervened and ordered his release,” he said. “I am only appealing for the release of the remaining four persons. But the cultists in the committee are now threatening to kill me.” He also disclosed that efforts to report the matter to the appropriate authorities had not yielded results, as the suspects were not handed over to the police as expected. “We went to the command, but unfortunately, they were not dropped there,” he said. "I had planned to leave them there so that I could speak with OC Crack, who has the authority to make arrests. When I met the Honourable Commissioner for Education on this issue, he advised me to report directly to OC Crack whenever there’s a conflict. But when we got there, they still refused to drop the suspects.” When contacted for a reaction, the Commissioner for Primary Education in Ebonyi State, Dr. Illang Donatus, dismissed the allegations as “baseless and reckless.” Dr. Donatus challenged the NAPPS chairman to provide credible evidence linking the government or any committee member to cultism, warning that he would take legal action if such proof was not presented. "Let him produce evidence of the employment of any cultists in the committee; otherwise, I will not hesitate to charge him to court,” the commissioner stated.