Eagle Eye
There is a growing fear in the hearts of parents of primary and secondary school students who have increasingly become soft targets for terrorists, bandits and other criminal-minded elements. Children are now used as a means to an end, kidnapped for ransom, rituals or even for their vital organs, which are allegedly harvested and sold at exorbitant prices to the highest bidders. Nigerians have witnessed perilous times in which no one appears safe.
Not even security operatives are spared, let alone ordinary civilians. The recent killing of Brigadier General Musa Uba, a high-ranking officer of the Nigerian Army, while on active duty repelling Boko Haram and ISWAP elements, sent shockwaves across the country, especially among citizens who believed the government was firmly on top of the security situation.
Over the years, the terrorists’ modus operandi has remained largely consistent: select a school, overpower or kill security operatives or authorities who resist them and abduct as many students as possible. Yet, when it comes to strengthening security in schools, the response has often followed the same old pattern of neglect.
One of the most notable recent cases is the abduction of over 300 students from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, on November 21, 2025. Gunmen attacked the school and took 303 pupils and 12 teachers hostage. While 100 children have reportedly been rescued, 153 students and 12 staff members remain in captivity.
This incident forms part of a disturbing national trend. Since 2014, nearly 1,800 schoolchildren have been abducted in close to a dozen major school attacks across Nigeria. These abductions are largely carried out by armed groups seeking ransom, and the Federal Government has faced sustained criticism over its handling of the crisis.
The impact has been severe, with many parents now reluctant to send their children back to school due to safety concerns. In response, authorities have at various times ordered school closures and deployed security forces to affected areas, yet the fear persists.
A history of school abductions
The history of mass abductions of schoolchildren in Nigeria since 2009 paints a grim picture. One of the most infamous incidents remains the abduction of 276 Chibok schoolgirls in Borno State in 2014 by Boko Haram. As of April 2024, 82 of those girls were still unaccounted for. Since then, at least 17 mass school abductions have occurred nationwide, with more than 1,700 children kidnapped. In 2020, over 300 pupils were abducted from a boys’ secondary boarding school in Kankara, Katsina State. In 2021, 279 female students were taken from a school in Jangebe, Zamfara State, though they were later released. In 2024, more than 200 students were abducted from a school in Kuriga, Kaduna State.
Despite this constant threat to students’ lives, security arrangements in many Nigerian schools remain pathetically inadequate. Outside military and Air Force schools, where security appears relatively tight, security in conventional schools is often treated as child’s play. The focus is frequently on keeping students in check rather than keeping terrorists and other criminals at bay. In many schools, security personnel are poorly recruited and poorly trained.
They are often the cheapest labour available, individuals with little or no passion for the job and no professional training whatsoever. Their instructions are usually limited to preventing students from sneaking out, with little or no consideration for external threats. Unsurprisingly, such guards are easily overwhelmed at the sight of armed attackers.
Age and physical fitness are also major concerns, as many of these guards struggle to remain alert and are often found sleeping on duty. Their authority is more commonly exerted on defenceless students than on potential intruders. At this critical point, any school that fails to employ professional security personnel to safeguard its students should seriously reconsider its operations. The lives of children are priceless and must never be treated lightly.
Shared responsibility for safety
School owners and administrators should not wait solely for government intervention before taking decisive action. Local security arrangements matter. Engaging the services of vigilante groups can provide additional eyes and ears, ensuring heightened alertness against any security breach. Schools should consider deploying multiple vigilante personnel around their vicinity and, where possible, assigning escorts to accompany students who trek home, at least as far as their streets, to reduce the risk of abduction after school hours.
Parents also have a role to play by reducing the burden on schools through personally dropping and picking up their children, especially in non-boarding institutions. Wisdom, as the saying goes, is profitable to direct. Parents must critically assess the distance between home and school and ask whether it is truly worth the risk, particularly when there may be suitable schools closer to home.
Ultimately, while practical measures are essential, many parents also find comfort in prayer and in committing the lives of their children into God’s hands. As the saying goes, those who trust in God shall not be disappointed. There is nothing wrong with doing one’s best and entrusting the safety of one’s children to divine protection, believing firmly that God will never fail.