including the 47 federal unity colleges shut down in Kebbi and Niger states, in November, 2025, following a string of security breaches, have started resuming after the Yuletide break. Although the unity schools were reopened by the Federal Government in December, 2025, it was mainly to allow the students do their examinations and conclude their end-of-year programmes.
The first of such security breach occured (ON MONDAY) at the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in the Danko/Wasagu area of Kebbi State, where armed men abducted at least 25 schoolgirls. The school’s vice principal, Hassan Makuku, was shot dead while attempting to protect the students. Barely three days later, (on Friday), gunmen stormed St. Mary’s School, a Catholic mission school in Agwara, Niger State, and abducted dozens of pupils and staff.
Clearly, these two incidents, coming so close to one another were intolerable. The schools’ closure was therefore government’s own way of admitting its inability to guarantee the safety of students, especially in vulnerable areas. So, many Nigerians welcomed the decision to shut down the schools so that the government could do the needful: upgrade the security infrastructure in the schools and their environs before throwing their gates open for academic activities again.
The reopening of the schools, barely a month after their closure, should naturally excite both the students and their parents, but for the question as to what has changed within a month to guarantee that students can now return without fear of abductions. What security measures have been put in place to avert a recurrence of such ugly incidents? Although many of them have concluded their December academic programmes, including their examinations, the question persists as to whether the time was ripe for such activities.
A statement by the spokesperson of the Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo, which announced the reopening of the schools said “This administration places strong emphasis on human capital development and recognises education as a critical pillar for national growth and development.
Accordingly, it remains determined to prevent any disruption to the academic calendar. The safe return of students and the successful conduct of examinations in several Unity Colleges underscore the Government’s resolve to keep learning on track despite prevailing challenges.” We understand the concern of the government that education is an inalienable right of every Nigerian child and so, schools cannot be shut down forever.
Moreover, shutting down the schools permanently, or for long, could be interpreted as government’s lack of capacity to get them running uninterrupted. But then, it is only children who are alive that can go to school. True, virtually all the students and members of the staff kidnapped in the two schools have been reunited with their families, except those that died in the course of the abductions.
The point remains that many Nigerians are sceptical about government’s preparedness to put such abductions at bay. We can only take solace in the assurance by the government that we would not have a recurrence of abductions in those colleges and indeed our other schools.
But the relative ease with which the students are usually abducted since the first set of students were kidnapped in Chibok, on April 14/15, 2014, calls to question the value of The Safe Schools Initiative (SSI) set up by the government and some partners like the United Nations and some business leaders on May 7, 2014, to protect students and schools from attacks. The initiative aimed at enhancing physical security (fencing, lighting), improve emergency response, and provide psychosocial support to the students.
About $30 million was raised through the initiative. Despite this, about 17 mass school abductions had been recorded in seven years with over 2,000 children abductions in the same period. We need to probe how the money was spent, especially with reports that over 42,000 schools are still vulnerable. A project like this cannot be abandoned, thereby leaving our future leaders at the mercy of criminals.
We commend the security agencies for their untiring efforts that led to the release of the students. But then, Nigerians would also want to know precisely how the release of the students were facilitated. We acknowledge the decision by some states in the northern region to open their schools in phases or with restrictions, beginning with the ones in the urban centres, as well as the decision of others to convert the boarding schools to day schools or deboard the students.
These can only be interim measures. They cannot guarantee the safety of students. We therefore urge the federal and state governments to continue to work with the security agencies to keep not just our schools but the entire country safe.
