Abductions: VIEW Faults Closing Down Of Public Schools

A coalition of women advocates, Voices for Inclusion and Equity for Women (VIEW), has faulted the shutdown of public schools following spate of student abductions in Northern Nigeria even it condemned the menace, describing the recent kidnappings in Kebbi and Niger States as evidence of a deepening national security collapse.

The group, which brings together leading female voices from across the North, in a statement, said it was “horrified” by the mass abduction of over 300 children and teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, Niger State, coming just days after the kidnapping of schoolgirls from Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State.

“The scale and brutality of these attacks defy understanding. Families are living a nightmare no society should tolerate, and northern Nigeria is once again plunged into fear, paralysis, and grief,” VIEW said in a statement jointly signed by its members, including Asmau Joda, Maryam Uwais, Mairo Mandara, Aisha Oyebode, Fatima Akilu, Kadaria Ahmed, Larai Ocheja Amusan, and Ier Jonathan-Ichaver.

The coalition described the current situation as “no longer insecurity but terror,” adding that it represented “a national failure on a scale that should shake the entire country.”

However, VIEW expressed strong disapproval of the recent decisions by authorities in Niger and Kebbi States, as well as the Federal Government’s closure of unity schools across northern Nigeria. The group described the move as an act of surrender rather than protection.

“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,” the statement read. “Protect schools, don’t close them. Or otherwise provide alternative, efficient avenues for quality learning.”

VIEW warned that the blanket school closures would have dire consequences, particularly for girls, who already face severe cultural, economic, and structural barriers to education in the North.

“A nation cannot safeguard its children’s future by shutting down their present,” the group said. “Every shuttered classroom widens inequality; every child kept at home deepens fear. This is not protection; it is abandonment.”

The coalition argued that such policies effectively hand over control of children’s education to violent actors and risk reinforcing systemic efforts, whether deliberate or by neglect to keep northern girls uneducated and powerless.

“Nigeria cannot continue this cycle of violence followed by retreat,” VIEW declared. “Schools must be protected, not emptied. They must be secured and strengthened, not converted into symbols of helplessness.”

Citing past tragedies in Chibok, Dapchi, Yauri, and Jangebe, the women’s coalition said that children in communities such as Maga and Papiri deserve the full protection of the state, not “more hollow assurances and reactive closures.”

The group called for a national emergency response based on intelligence-led rescue operations, transparent daily updates, and a complete overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture.

“We reject policies that punish children for the State’s failures. We reject the normalization of terror,” the statement said. “Nigeria must respond with strategy and courage, not blanket school shutdowns that erode education and embolden attackers.”

VIEW concluded by urging the federal and state governments to act decisively to rescue the abducted students and secure learning spaces across the region.

“Nigeria is once again failing its daughters and sons,” the coalition said. “The children of Maga and Papiri must be rescued, northern schools must be protected, and the future of our region must not be surrendered to fear. Education is an imperative for our girls, and for all our children.”