Publication

According to Reuters, thirty-nine schoolchildren were reportedly abducted in Oyo State. Seven teachers were taken with them, and one teacher was reportedly killed. Twenty-three pupils were abducted from an orphanage and school facility in Kogi State. Forty-two children were reportedly taken from a primary school in Borno State.

 

If these figures do not stop us, then perhaps we have become too familiar with tragedy.

 

These are not just numbers. They are children who left home for school and never returned, and teachers who went to work and became victims. They are parents now, waiting for answers that no parent should ever have to beg for.

 

What makes these attacks even more disturbing is not only that children are being taken, but that the armed groups responsible appear to operate with frightening confidence. Across Nigeria, armed groups have abducted children, contacted families, demanded ransom, and used fear as a weapon. In some cases, images and videos have circulated online, deepening public fear and showing how abduction is used not only to seize children, but to terrorize families and communities.

 

The recent attacks in Oyo, Kogi, and Borno show that school abduction is no longer a distant problem tied to one region. It is a national failure. When children can be taken from a school in the South-West, from a school facility in North-Central Nigeria, and from a primary school in the North-East, no community can honestly say, “It cannot happen here.”

 

Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, provides that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. That constitutional duty cannot be fulfilled by condemnation after an attack. It requires serious, practical steps to prevent foreseeable harm, especially when children are involved.

 

Furthermore, the Constitution protects more than the mere existence of a child. Section 33 guarantees the right to life, Section 34 protects human dignity, and Section 35 safeguards personal liberty. Together, these rights mean that no child should be exposed to violence, degrading treatment, unlawful captivity, or fear in a place meant for learning.

 

There is also the question of education. Section 18 of the Constitution directs government policy towards equal and adequate educational opportunities and the eradication of illiteracy, including free, compulsory, and universal primary education. While this provision falls under Chapter II and is often treated as a policy objective, it still carries constitutional importance.

 

Education cannot be meaningful where the classroom is unsafe. A child who cannot go to school without fear of abduction is not truly enjoying the promise of education.

 

The Child Rights Act, 2003, also recognizes a child’s right to survival and development and requires the best interest of the child to be treated as a primary consideration in all actions concerning children. In practical terms, children should come first in school safety, security planning, emergency response, rescue operations, prosecution of offenders, and post-rescue care.

 

That standard is not being met. When children are abducted from school, the abductors are not the only ones who must answer questions. The Nation must also answer.

 

Nigeria needs a school safety system that works before children are taken, not only after their names start trending on social media. High-risk schools and child-care facilities must be identified and protected. Basic safety standards must be enforced. Community reporting channels must lead to a real response. Security agencies, education authorities, local leaders, and child-protection officers must coordinate before attacks happen, not only after.

 

The impact of school abduction does not end when some children are rescued. Parents withdraw their children from school. Teachers become afraid. Communities begin to see education as dangerous. That is how a security failure becomes a generational crisis.

 

My view is simple: a country that cannot protect children in school cannot speak seriously about the future.

 

The right to life means little if children can be taken from school. The right to education means little if learning comes with fear. The right to dignity means little if families are left begging for answers. Until every child can enter a classroom without fear of being abducted, Nigeria has not done enough.