Nigeria State Security Service (SSS) arrested two Secondary school students in Kagara, Niger State, aged 18 and 17 years becasue of a text message prank they started, suggesting Boko Haram had plans to attack the Presidential Villa and National Assembly complex in Abuja. After a thorough investigation of the text message that quickly circulated, the SSS picked up the students, then handed them over to their School authorities and Parents for proper counselling.
SSS Spokesperson, Ms. Marilyn Ogar, stated “the circulation of several text messages about plans by the Boko Haram to attack specific targets in Abuja, FCT, have become rampant, causing apprehension and panic among residents of the FCT and its environs. One of such messages alleged purported plans by Boko Haram to attack the Presidential villa and National Assembly on the 28th October, 2011. However, following painstaking investigations, the Service succeeded in tracing it to two (2) persons who issued the threat text message with the aim of inciting a frenzy of fear and panic in the society. Both suspects aged 18 and 17 years, are boarding students in a secondary school in Kagara, Niger State.
The two (2) suspects claimed they were encouraged to send such panic messages by an advertorial they saw in a National News daily of 18th October, 2011 that requested members of the public to volunteer information on the activities of Boko Haram. The service hereby wishes to urge parents to pay more attention to the activities of their children and wards both at home and in school. Particularly, the culture of providing GSM mobile phones for students in schools should be discouraged as giving young people of that age access to such devices distracts them from their academics and impacts negatively on their overall performance as seen in the recently released WAEC and NECO examination results.
It also exposes them to several societal vices associated with social networking which are easily accessed through mobile phones.” What are you thinking?