Writing By Ismai’l Adamu ; Editing By Godwin Duru
At least 1,683 school children were abducted in Nigeria between 2014 and 2022 by various bandit and insurgent groups who carried out seventy different attacks on schools during the period.
A report released by an international NGO, Save the Children International (SCI), to mark the 2026 International Day of Education, also revealed that 184 pupils and students were killed during those attacks while infrastructure were damaged in 25 of the affected schools.
The report which was released to Newsmen in Katsina pointed out that the crisis was worst-felt in the North-East and North-Western states “where attacks on schools, mass abductions, and community displacement remain widespread”, undermining the efforts of government and partners towards improving the quality of education.
It warned that “without safe schools and an adequately funded education system, the potential of Nigeria’s young people, who make up over 60% of the population, will remain constrained”.
The report also called for the full implementation of the Safe Schools declaration, and robust security measures to protect children in their learning environments, describing young people as “not just leaders of tomorrow but strategic drivers of change today”.
It says the NGO remains committed to strengthening youth-led advocacy for the implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative, emergency education responses, and advancing skills development for adolescents affected by conflict and displacement.
Isma’il Adamu
