Women Group Faults School Closures, Says Nigeria Is ‘Normalising Terror’

The Voices for Inclusion and Equity for Women (VIEW), a coalition of prominent Northern women leaders, has condemned the decision by state authorities to close schools across parts of the North following recent mass abductions, describing the action as “panic, not protection” and warning that Nigeria is “sliding from insecurity into terror.”

The group in a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by Asmau Joda, Maryam Uwais, Mairo Mandara, Aisha Oyebode, Fatima Akilu, Kadaria Ahmed and Larai Ocheja Amusan, made available to journalists in Lagos, said it was “horrified” by the worsening security situation, particularly the kidnapping of schoolgirls from Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, and the abduction of more than 300 children and teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State.

The group criticised both state and federal authorities for responding with school closures instead of strengthening protection for educational institutions.

“Instead of responding with strategy, urgency and courage, we are witnessing decisions that reflect panic rather than protection,” the woman said.

“The announcement that all schools in Niger and Kebbi States have been shut down, along with the closure of unity schools across the North, represents not security but surrender,” they added.

VIEW argued that shutting down schools in a region already grappling with high levels of female illiteracy would have long-term consequences.

“The North already carries the highest burden of female illiteracy in Nigeria. These sweeping school closures stifle their right to learn even further,” the group said, adding that “Every shuttered classroom widens inequality; every child kept at home deepens fear. This is not protection; it is abandonment.”

The coalition warned that the closures effectively hand victory to violent groups seeking to disrupt education and weaken girls’ empowerment.

“It hands over control of children’s education to violent actors and reinforces efforts, whether deliberate or through neglect, to keep northern girls uneducated and powerless,” VIEW stated.

Calling for a coordinated national response, the group demanded “an emergency proactive plan grounded in intelligence-driven rescue operations, transparent daily updates and a serious rebuilding of Nigeria’s security architecture.”

The women insisted that schools must be protected, not emptied, noting that communities from Chibok and Dapchi to Yauri, Jangebe, Maga and Papiri have suffered repeated trauma. At the same time, authorities offer “hollow assurances.”