Abductions: Student Leader Warns Of Lasting Scars On Education Sector

Growing school insecurity in Nigeria is drawing fresh concern, with repeated abductions raising fears of lasting damage to education, national growth and trust in schools.

Recent incidents in parts of Oyo and Borno States have heightened concern. While reports of a school invasion in a rural community continue to spark panic in Oyo, renewed fears have emerged in Borno, which has endured over a decade of insurgency-related school attacks.

These developments come at a time when the country is also grappling with insecurity at large.

In an interview with LEADERSHIP, the Secretary General of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade Oladimeji Uthman, warned that the consequences of insecurity are already visible in student performance and emotional wellbeing.

Beyond immediate academic disruption, Uthman warned that Nigeria may be facing a deeper, generational crisis if school abductions continue unchecked, pointing to the long-term erosion of confidence in formal education.

He said: “The long-term consequences of repeated school abductions on Nigeria’s education system are dire and far-reaching.

“This pattern of violence instils a deep-seated fear in parents, discouraging them from sending their children to school. It disrupts learning continuity, leading to significant knowledge gaps and affecting the academic trajectory of countless students.”

He noted that repeated attacks do not only affect those directly involved but also reshape community attitudes towards education, especially in rural and hard-to-reach areas where fear spreads quickly and school attendance drops sharply after each incident.

“Furthermore, it can lead to an increase in out-of-school children, exacerbating social and economic challenges. This crisis threatens to undermine decades of progress in education and has the potential to create a lost generation if not addressed decisively,” he warned.

Education stakeholders have long expressed concern that Nigeria already has one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children globally, and insecurity could worsen the situation by reversing enrolment gains made over the past decade through government and international interventions.

Uthman, on his part, emphasised that restoring confidence in the system requires more than reactive responses after each incident, insisting on a structured and sustained national strategy.

“The government bears the primary responsibility for restoring confidence in our education system and safeguarding our schools.

“It is impossible to foresee anything but a negative impact. The current insecurity, especially with students and teachers held captive, casts a dark shadow over the integrity and fairness of the ongoing WAEC examinations.

“Candidates in affected regions or those experiencing trauma are already at a significant disadvantage. Fear, anxiety and disrupted study routines directly affect concentration, memory and overall performance,” he added.

He further stressed that the learning environment in many parts of the country has become unstable, making equal academic opportunity increasingly difficult to guarantee.

For him, the psychological burden alone is enough to undermine examination outcomes even before academic ability is considered.

“This situation is a stark reminder of the critical need for immediate action to secure our students and educational spaces,” he added.

This is just as he outlined a multi-layered solution. “This requires a multi-pronged approach: implementing robust and visible security protocols around all educational institutions, especially in porous and vulnerable areas.

“This includes providing adequate security personnel, improved infrastructure such as perimeter fencing and functional surveillance systems.”

He also called for stronger intelligence-led prevention mechanisms to stop attacks before they occur.

According to him, “Enhancing intelligence gathering to proactively identify and neutralise threats before they materialise.”

He also stressed the importance of community participation in safeguarding schools, arguing that local vigilance remains a critical line of defence.

“Fostering strong partnerships between schools, local communities and security agencies to create a collaborative network for safety,” he noted.

He further emphasised the need for structured psychosocial intervention for victims of abductions, many of whom struggle with trauma long after physical recovery.

“Providing comprehensive psychological and academic support to students and educators who have been victims of abductions,” he said.

On policy direction, he urged stronger political commitment and increased funding for education safety infrastructure, warning that underinvestment would continue to expose schools to risk.