CONFIRMED FIGURES: 215 students, 12 staff kidnapped from Catholic school in Niger State
In a statement issued yesterday by his spokesman, Ismaila Uba Misilli, the NSGF warned that Northern Nigeria cannot afford further setbacks in its collective push to mop up out-of-school children and return them to the classroom.
“As a Forum, we have consistently maintained that schools must remain sanctuaries of learning and growth, not theatres of fear, violence or terror. Northern Nigeria already contends with significant challenges and educational setbacks, and we cannot allow criminal elements to derail our collective efforts at returning out-of-school children back into the classroom,” he said.
Governor Yahaya said the forum is deeply worried and saddened by this ugly trend, especially at a time when governments across the North are investing heavily in creating safe, conducive and resilient learning environments.
The abductions
In April 2014, no less than 276 girls were abducted from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State. A month before the Chibok incident, a school in the same axis in Buni Yadi of Yobe State was attacked and 59 students were killed and several buildings within the school were set ablaze.
The attacks continued at no specified intervals, but with no less ferocity as it happened in Dapchi, Yobe State in February 2018; at Kankara in December 2020; Kagara in Niger State in February 2021; Jangebe, Zamfara State in February 2021; Kaduna, March 2021, Birnin Gwari in March 2021: Greenfield University, April 2021; Tegina, Niger State, May 2021; Yauri, Kebbi State, June 2021; Federal University, Gusau, Zamfara State, September 2023; Federal University, Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State, October 2023.
On March 7 2024, Nigeria witnessed one of its largest school kidnappings in years when about 287 students and staff were seized from a government-owned primary and secondary school in Kuriga, Kaduna State.
A day later, gunmen stormed a Tsangaya (Qur’anic) school in Gidan Bakuso, Sokoto State, taking roughly 15 children between the ages of 8 and 14. Kidnappers also struck in Ekiti State, where six pupils, three teachers, and a bus driver from a private school were abducted as their captors demanded N30 million in ransom.
These abductions have largely been concentrated in northern and northwestern states and often target girls’ schools. (Credit: Weekend Trust, but headline rejigged)
