The deliberate and indiscriminate attacks on educational institutions, their students, and staff across the country have continued to raise concern.
LEADERSHIP gathered that roughly 1,591 schoolchildren have been kidnapped in Nigeria since 2014 when terrorists first abducted 276 students from Chibok, Borno state.
Our investigation also showed that more than 61 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) were kidnapped by bandits between the period of 2014 and October 2023.
While most of the kidnapped victims have regained their freedom unhurt, some are still in captivity, like Leah Sharibu who was taken away in the Dapchi school mass kidnapping in Yobe State; one student from Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna; students in Damishi town of Chikun local government area, Kaduna, and the eight corps members recently kidnapped along a highway in Zamfara State, among others. In fact, some of the Chobok girls are yet to be liberated from their captors.
Security experts, studentnts and others have, therefore, stressed the urgent need for the state to protect the schools from kidnappers and bandits, by committedly implementing the Safe School initiative.
LEADERSHIP recalls that following the Chibok girls’ abduction in Borno State in 2014, the federal government that same year launched the Safe Schools Initiative as part of efforts to ensure that children in conflict areas, or affected by insecurity, continue with their education.
This initiative, a collaboration between Nigeria, the United Nations, and global education advocates, sought to create an environment where students could learn and grow without fear.
The sum of $30 million was raise during the launch of the initiative and it held the promise of safeguarding the schools and nurturing a generation of educated, empowered youth.
Despite President Muhammadu Buhari signing the safe schools’ declaration ratification document in 2019, the dream of safe schools remains painfully elusive as attacks on schools, particularly in the northern region of the country, persist, casting a long shadow over the educational future of the children of that region.
That notwithstanding, the federal government had in December 2022 launched N144.8 billion Safe Schools Financing Plan with a view to protecting schools from terrorist attacks across the nation.
However, the then minister of finance, Zainab Ahmed, had stated that the plan would be implemented between 2023 and 2026.
While the country awaits the implementation of Safe School Initiative, security experts, students and other stakeholders have said the installation of hidden Close Circuit Television (CCTV) in school premises would help in curbing kidnapping of school children across the country.
They also called for the introduction of security as a course of study in the education curriculum to help awaken security consciousness and alertness in students and teachers.
While urging the school owners and managers to provide adequate security measures such as perimeter fencing of their schools, they also stressed the need for judicious use of security-budgeted funds released by the government.
LEADERSHIP, however, takes a look at the timeline of abductions in schools across the country, amid stakeholders’ call for new approaches.
Timeline Of Abductions
Below is a timeline of how far terrorists and criminals have gone in making schools unsafe, resulting in more than 1,664 kidnapping of school children and NYSC members in Nigeria since 2014.
April 14, 2014: 276 from Girls Secondary School, Chibok, kidnapped
On April 14, 2014, over 276 female students, aged 16 to 18, were kidnapped by Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State.
No fewer than 57 of the schoolgirls escaped immediately following the incident by jumping from the trucks on which they were being transported. Others have been rescued by the Nigerian Armed Forces on various occasions.
Amina Ali, one of the missing girls, was found in May 2016. As of April 14, 2021, seven years after the initial kidnapping, over 100 of the girls remain missing. But
February 19, 2018: 110 Dapchi School Girls Kidnapped
Barely four years after the attack on Chibok, the insurgents struck in Yobe, also in North-West region.
The then minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed confirmed that 110 students were kidnapped after Boko Haram invaded the Government Girls Science Technical College (GGSTC) in Dapchi, on Monday, February 19, 2018.
Apart from five girls that died in the incident, the rest were reunited with their families after they were released on March 21, 2018 by their abductors, except the only Christian among them, Leah Sharibu, who is yet to be freed by the attackers.
December 11, 2020: 303 Kankara Boys, Katsina Kidnapped
On Friday, December 11, 2020 bandits took more than 303 students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina into captivity.
However, a week after the students were taken into captivity, their abductors released them.
December 19, 2020: 80 Islamic school students, Dandume, foiled a kidnapping attack
Less than two days after the kidnapped Kankara students’ release, some gunmen abducted more than 80 Islamic school students in the same Katsina State.
This time, the pupils were quickly rescued by security forces after a fierce gun battle, according to the police.
The attempted kidnapping took place in Dandume, about 64 kilometres from Kankara, the town where the earlier kidnapping of schoolboys occurred.
February 17, 2021: Bandits abduct another 41 in Kagara, Niger State
On February 17, 2021, gunmen raided the Government Science College Kagara, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, capturing students, teachers, and others from the school. 27 students were among the abductees.
February 26, 2021: 317 Female students abducted in Zamfara State
Less than 10 days after the bandits raided Kagara, gunmen kidnapped 317 schoolgirls from the Government Girls Science Secondary School, Jangebe in Jangebe, Zamfara State.
The incident happened on Friday, February 26, 2021.
March 11, 2021: 39 College of Forestry, Afaka, Kaduna kidnapped
The Afaka kidnapping took place on March 11, 2021, when gunmen attacked Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Igabi LGA, Kaduna State, and kidnapped 39 students just weeks after a similar attack in Jangebe, Zamfara State.
The abducted comprised 23 females and 16 males. Security forces were able to rescue 180 staff and students the next day.
On April 5, 2021, the government of Kaduna State announced that five of the 39 people abducted from the Afaka School had been released.
On April 8, 2021, the state further announced that another five students had been released, leaving 29 still in captivity.
On May 5, 2021, the state government announced that the remaining 29 students were released after spending 55 days in captivity.
April 20, 2021: 20 Greenfield University Students Kidnapped
The Greenfield University kidnapping took place on April 20, 2021, when at least 20 students and two staff members were kidnapped in Kasarami village, Chikun LGA, Kaduna State, during an attack by suspected armed bandits.
The kidnappers demanded N800 million ransom. On April 23, 2021, the kidnappers killed three of the students.
On May 29, 2021, after 40 days in captivity, the remaining 14 students were freed. Their parents also said they paid a ransom of N150 million and eight brand new motorcycles to the bandits.
May 30, 2021: Niger Muslim school kidnap
On May 30, 2021, an armed gang abducted dozens of students from an Islamic school in Niger State.
One of the school’s officials disclosed that the attackers initially took more than 100 children “but later sent back those they considered too small for them, those between four and 12 years old”.
The state government, in a series of tweets, said the attackers had released 11 of the pupils who were “too small and couldn’t walk” very far.
June 17 2021: 96 Students Kidnapped At Govt College, Birnin Yauri
On June 17, heavily armed bandits struck at Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri, Yauri LGA of Kebbi State, abducting over 96 students and eight teachers from the College.
July 2021: Over 153 Students Of Baptist High School Kidnapped
In July 2021, bandits kidnapped over 153 students of Bethel Baptist High School in Damishi town of Chikun local government area in Kaduna.
September 2023: Over 20 Students kidnapped In North Western Nigeria Varsity
Security forces have rescued 14 of at least 20 students abducted from a university in northwestern Nigeria and were searching for the remaining captives, school authorities say.
Gunmen attacked the school in Zamfara state’s Bungudu district last week and fled with the students and some workers in the first mass school abduction in Nigeria since President Bola Tinubu took office in May.
More Than 61 NYSC Members Abducted
October 2018: Five Corps Members Kidnapped
Five members of the NYSC travelling to their orientation camps in Akwa Ibom and Rivers states, and two other passengers were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in October 2018.
The victims, who were traveling from Ibadan, Oyo state capital, to their orientation camps in Akwa Ibom and Rivers, were kidnapped along the Owerri-Port Harcourt expressway and taken to the Umuapu forest in the Ohaji/Egbema local government area of Imo State.
However, Dasuki Galadanchi, Imo commissioner of police, later confirmed that they were rescued from kidnappers.
February 2019, 18 Corps Members Kidnapped In Akwa Ibom
A total of 18 NYSC members were abducted in February 2019 in different locations in Akwa Ibom by unknown gunmen. 14 were later freed, according to the resident electoral commission in the state, Mike Igini.
Also, four corps members were abducted while returning from Lagos to Port Harcourt, Rivers State in 2019.Rivers State police command said it had rescued them.
Abraham Amuta Abah, another corps member whose family lived in Jentan Mangoro in Jos, Plateau State, was abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State in 2019.
March 2020: 4 Prospective Corps Members Kidnapped In Zamfara
Four prospective corps members travelling to Zamfara State for the NYSC orientation camp were kidnapped by unknown gunmen. They were rescued two days later.
March 9, 2020: 13 Corps Members Kidnapped In Funtua
The Katsina police command confirmed it rescued 13 members of NYSC abducted by gunmen on March 9.
The corps members, who were from Ondo state, were kidnapped along Funtua-Gusua highway on their way to the NYSC camp at Tsafe, Zamfara state. The gunmen were said to have intercepted their 18-seater bus and took them into Doka forest along with five other passengers.
October 2021: 2 NYSC Members Kidnapped In Zamfara
Two NYSC members deployed from Benue State to Kebbi and Sokoto states were kidnapped along Tsafe-Gusau Road in Zamfara State.They were released after a week.
December 7, 2022: NYSC Member Abducted In Kubwa, Abuja
On December 7, 2022, suspected armed bandits struck at the Arab Road Extension 2 in Kubwa district of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and abducted a serving youth Corps member, one Adenike, and seven others while killing one resident.
22 August, 2023: 8 Corps Members kidnapped in Zamfara
On August 22, 2023, suspected bandits kidnapped eight NYSC members along a highway in Zamfara State. Most of them are still in captivity.
May 19, 2023
Gunmen in Rivers state kidnapped some NYSC members along the Rumuji area of the East West Road in Emohua Local Council of the state. However, five of them escaped from their captors.
Security Experts, Students, Others Speak
To properly curb the kidnapping of school children in Nigeria, stakeholders, in separate interviews with LEADERSHIP proffered some solutions.
Garland Ovuiroye, the regional coordinator Abuja/ North, Argon Plus Security Technology Ltd, said the government and school owners must ensure that well-trained security personnel with sophisticated weapons are deployed to the school premises.
According to him, most schools in Nigeria are porous, hence the need to invest heavily on the security of the lives of the students.
“There are computerised powerful security gadgets today that every school owner must go for to ensure the safety of their students. Apart from human security, the gadgets will go a long way in complementing the efforts of the protection officers.
“Most of these school children kidnappers are school dropouts. The basic and quality education needed to stop them going into kidnapping are not impacted on them simply because the parents are poor and cannot afford to send them to school; therefore, free education from primary to tertiary institution would go a long way in curbing this menace of kidnapping in our schools.
“Security as a course in our education curriculum will also help awaken security consciousness and alertness of our students and teachers. In other words, security should be taught across all our schools in the country. A knowledgeable security expert should be hired to teach the students to always be always conscious of their environment.
“Schools owners must also provide adequate security measures such as perimeter fencing of their schools, and standard access control protocols must be adopted at the entrance and exit of the school premises.
Ovuiroye further called for the installation of hidden Close Circuit Television (CCTV) around the school premises to help in curbing kidnapping of school children across the country.
The security expert called for yearly recruitment and retraining of security personnel across the nation, while security gadgets needed for proper security of lives and properties should be bought and distributed to all the security personnel at various checkpoints.
“Government should stop playing with the welfare of the citizens. They should provide job opportunities to the teeming population of the country. They should know that a well-fed man will find it very difficult going into crime,” he added.
On his part, an educationist, Gloria Mlanga, called on the government to make the safety of schoolchildren across the nation a priority.
She said, “More investments and funding should be made in preventing education from attacks across the country, while proper checks should be on to ensure judicious use of the funds.”
A final year student of Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, who only identified himself as Cletus, said he may consider applying for exemption from National Youth Service Corps given the recent attacks on Corps members.
“Corps members are not safe any longer and that is discouraging many parents from allowing their children to go for service, especially in the northern part of the country.
“It is like corps members are now the target of bandits. I would advise the government to provide another alternative for corps members to be serving in their places of choice, if it’s unable to stop the attacks against them.”
