Nigerian Authorities Failing Children — AI

Amnesty International has lent its voice against the series of kidnapping across Nigeria, saying the Nigerian government was not doing enough to protect lives and guaranteeing the safety of its younger generation.

The organisation said in a statement yesterday while reacting to the attacks, especially the abduction of students;  “The Nigerian authorities are failing children, as over 230 children in the North are in captivity of gunmen this week, after their abduction during two mass attacks on schools that also interrupted the education of thousands of children because of closure of hundreds of schools in Katsina, Plateau and other states.

“The latest wave of horrific attacks on schools in Kebbi and Niger states clearly show that Nigerian authorities never cared to learn any lesson from such previous incidents in which some school children were also killed by gunmen.

“School children in some parts of northern Nigeria are constantly at risk of death or abduction. More than 780 children were abducted for ransom in 2021 during mass attacks on schools or religious institutions, with some of the children killed during the attacks,” said Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria.