School Abductions Threaten Northern Children’s Education — Amnesty
Amnesty International has raised the alarm over repeated abductions of school children and teachers in northern Nigeria, warning that the education of a generation is at risk.
The organisation highlighted the indefinite closure of 20,468 schools across seven states following last week’s mass abduction in Niger State.
Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, in a statement on Tuesday, described the situation as “an assault on childhood and an utter failure to guarantee the safety and security of school children and teachers.”
He added, “Hundreds of towns and villages have for many years endured frequent attacks by gunmen, leaving children and teachers unsafe.”
The group reported that since the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls abduction, at least 15 mass abductions have been documented, noting authorities’ repeated failure to investigate past incidents or hold perpetrators accountable.
Sanusi described the recurring security lapses as “a serious breach of (their) human rights obligations, including under the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.”
He further warned, “Many abducted children and teachers are never released by their abductors.
“The possibility of abduction is forcing millions of children to abandon education, while underage girls are having their education terminated and forced into marriage as a means of avoiding abduction at school.”
The human rights group added that authorities have failed to fulfil promises to investigate abductions and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Amnesty International cited the recent abductions of 25 schoolgirls in Maga, Kebbi State, and over 300 children and teachers from St. Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger State.
Sanusi noted that security intelligence often failed to prevent these attacks and warned that while school closures may provide temporary safety, they have long-term negative effects on education.
“Many schools that are closed to prevent abductions remain closed indefinitely because security is not improving in affected areas. As a result, thousands of children are forced into working to support their families.
“Even before the current wave of school abductions, the Nigerian authorities were not adequately or effectively upholding and ensuring the right to education,” he added.
He stressed that Nigeria has ratified key human rights treaties, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC).
“The authorities must live up to their legal obligations to ensure rights to education, to the highest attainable standard of health, to protection from physical or mental violence, and to protection from torture and other ill-treatment,” Sanusi said.
Amnesty International urged Nigerian authorities to “invest more in education and take concrete and effective measures to reduce the barriers that deny many children access to school — including ending violent attacks on rural communities.”
The organisation called for “prompt, thorough, transparent investigations into all mass abductions since 2014 and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice,” emphasising that “authorities must ensure access to justice and effective remedies for victims and their families.”
The warning comes amid escalating insecurity in northern Nigeria, where repeated abductions, school closures, and attacks on rural communities continue to disrupt education and endanger children’s lives.