Activist Raises Concern over Safety of Borno Teacher Rewarded for Dedication … Says She has Become High Profile Target for Terrorists

Malik Yahya/

A social activist has raised the alarm over the potential danger to the life of Mrs. Obiagelli Mazi, a primary school teacher of Igbo extraction who was rewarded recently by the Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum, for her dedication to duty.

The alarm was raised by the Nigerian Head of Mission, Leadership and Accountability Initiative, Henry Shield, in a tweet today.

A video of the governor’s encounter with the teacher at 6.30am during his unscheduled inspection visit to Shehu Sanda Kyarimi 2 Primary School under Jere Local Government Education Authority went viral on Friday.

The governor had immediately given her a cash gift of N100, 000 and later approved the recommendation of the Borno State Universal Education Board for her to be promoted from Grade Level 12 class teacher to Assistant Headmistress.

Shield said his concern stemmed from the widespread interest her story had generated coupled with the fact that the name of her school had been made public.

He consequently urged the government of her home state of Abia to offer her interstate transfer as a means of guaranteeing her safety.

The tweet read, “With the interest she has generated and the name of her school made public, this woman has become a high profile target to those useless ISWAP of BH boys. I urge the Abia State Governor to offer this woman an interstate transfer immediately. Let’s do this please”

See tweet below:

In a subsequent tweet, Shield wrote, “Governor Zulum did amazingly well in identifying, recognizing and rewarding a hardworking staff of his Govt but the issue remains that her security is a task beyond his purview. He can’t detail security men to follow her all day and night having exposed her to such publicity.”

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