Abuja – 14 April, 2024:

ImpactHouse Centre for Development Communication (ImpactHouse) finds it unacceptable the persistent insecurity in Nigerian schools a decade after the tragic abduction of Chibok schoolgirls.

It is troubling to observe that Nigerian schools have remained largely insecure ever since the horrific events of April 14, 2014, when terrorists kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from the Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State.

Despite promises of reform and increased security measures, subsequent incidents, including the 2021 kidnapping of over 300 schoolboys in Kankara, the recent abduction of  287 students from the government secondary school in Kuriga, Kaduna State, and the abduction of 17 pupils from a boarding school in Gidan Bakuso, Sokoto State, highlight the government’s ineffectiveness in addressing the root causes of such attacks and implementing sustainable solutions.

Though over 130 victims from Kaduna and the victims from Sokoto have since been freed, there is still no information available on the remaining abductees. The recent spate of school kidnappings across Nigeria underscores the urgent need for concrete action to safeguard the nation’s educational institutions.

‘The failure of the Nigerian government to secure schools in the country, even ten years after the Chibok incident, is unacceptable considering the government’s constitutional responsibility to protect citizens and Nigeria’s commitment to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal 4, which emphasises equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all’, ImpactHouse Executive Director, John Andah, said.

‘Every child has the right to learn in a safe environment, free from fear and intimidation, and the government must mobilise all available resources to secure our schools and the release of everyone still in captivity’.

As we mark ten years since the Chibok incident, we call on the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to take decisive steps towards ensuring the safety and security of schools nationwide. This should include:

• Government’s implementation of the National Policy on Safety, Security, and Violence-Free Schools to guarantee the security of schools and students.
• Implementation of comprehensive security protocols in schools to deter attacks and ensure swift responses to threats.
• Collaboration with relevant security agencies to gather actionable intelligence on potential threats to schools and preemptively address them.
• Ensuring that individuals and groups responsible for attacks on schools are swiftly brought to justice and that measures are in place to prevent impunity.

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Editor note:

ImpactHouse Centre for Development Communication (ImpactHouse) is a Nigeria-based, tech-driven nonprofit that uses data and storytelling to drive a uniform understanding of development messages. Our key programme areas are civic participation and good governance, gender equity and justice, education and human rights, and media and civil society development, as we work towards aiding government-citizen action for sustainable development.

Media Contact Information:  

Chinomso Momoh – Outreach and Communications Specialist 

Email: chinomso@impacthouse.org.ng 

Phone: +2348087907931