Fresh waves of school kidnappings in Niger and Kebbi states have once again thrust Nigeria into a familiar storm—one defined by fear, trauma and the persistent threat that hangs over classrooms across the northern region. Last week’s twin attacks, including the abduction of 303 students from a Catholic school in Niger State and 25 girls from a secondary school in Kebbi, have revived memories of Chibok and sharpened national anxiety over the safety of children in school.
The crisis, now in its eleventh year, shows no sign of loosening its grip.
A Crisis That Never Ended
On Friday, armed men stormed a Catholic school in Niger State and whisked away more than 300 students—one of the largest mass abductions since the 2014 Chibok attack. The incident came barely five days after 25 students were seized in Kebbi State.
These latest attacks are not anomalies. They fit into a grim pattern that has defined schooling in northern Nigeria for more than a decade. According to Save the Children International and UNICEF, about 70 attacks on schools were recorded between April 2014 and December 2022, resulting in over 1,680 student abductions, the killing of more than 180 children and injuries to at least 90 others. More than 90 students remain missing.
Fresh findings published by Fresh Facts show that between January 2023 and November 2025, Nigeria witnessed 22 more school attacks, with 816 students kidnapped. Combined, these verified incidents push the total number of mass abductions to 92, involving 2,496 students. Experts believe the true figures are significantly higher, especially in remote communities in Zamfara, Niger, Katsina and Sokoto, where attacks often go unreported.
Chibok: The Birth of a Monster
The night of 14 April 2014 remains a watershed moment. Boko Haram militants stormed Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, and captured 276 girls, sparking global outrage and the #BringBackOurGirls movement.
Yet Chibok did not deter future kidnappers—it emboldened them.
As Boko Haram splintered and criminal networks expanded in the North-West, mass abduction became a lucrative business. Schoolchildren became bargaining chips, and communities across Kaduna, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Niger and Sokoto found themselves under siege.
A decade later, UNICEF reports that about 90 Chibok girls are still missing.
A Generation Under Threat
Behind the statistics lies a deeper, more painful story. Entire communities are traumatised. Many children refuse to return to school, and thousands of parents have withdrawn theirs entirely.
UNICEF estimates that over one million children fear attending school due to insecurity. In 2020 alone, 11,500 schools were shut down, some never reopening.
Survivors grapple with depression, stigma, interrupted education and relocation. Reintegration programmes—where they exist—are underfunded and inconsistent. For many affected children, normalcy feels distant, if not lost.
Why the Attacks Continue
Human Rights Watch argues that impunity fuels the crisis. Bandits, often operating freely across state borders, attack schools with little interference from security agencies. Only 37 percent of schools in ten high-risk states have basic early-warning systems.
While the Nigerian government routinely condemns attacks and launches rescue operations, responses have been uneven. Some rescues have been swift; others dragged on for months. Security analysts often describe federal and state efforts as reactive, fragmented and lacking a long-term strategy.
Still, pressure mounts. After the recent Kebbi school abduction, President Bola Tinubu ordered the Minister of Defence to relocate to the state. But critics insist that symbolic gestures must give way to systematic reform.
The Ransom Dilemma
Officially, the Federal Government denies paying ransom to kidnappers. But community testimonies, media investigations and international reports tell a different story.
Notable examples include:
- Chibok (2016 & 2017): Reports indicate that at least N3 million was quietly exchanged to secure the release of more than 100 girls.
- Greenfield University (2021): Parents reportedly paid N180 million and supplied ten motorcycles.
- Dapchi (2018): UN documentation suggests a substantial ransom was paid.
- Kankara (2020): Though denied by government, local accounts point to payments in the tens of millions.
- Afaka (2021): Allegations of prisoner swaps and payments around N15 million.
The government insists that ransom payments only embolden criminals. Parents argue that, when their children are held at gunpoint in remote forests, ideology becomes a luxury.
Voices of a Frightened Nation
President of the National Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, describes the crisis as “alarming and heartbreaking,” adding that parents “desperately want to educate their children but no longer trust that schools are safe.”
Comrade Alao John, South-West Coordinator of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), called for a unified federal approach to secure learning environments. He warned that kidnappers now determine school calendars across the North.
Civil society groups continue to demand adherence to safe-school standards, expanded intelligence networks, investment in community policing and decisive action against kidnap-for-ransom syndicates.
A Timeline of Nigeria’s Stolen Children
A chilling catalogue of school kidnappings since 2014 underscores the scale of the crisis. Below are some of the most significant:
- 14 April 2014 – Chibok, Borno: 276 girls abducted
- 25 May 2017 – Igbonla, Lagos: Six students kidnapped
- 19 February 2018 – Dapchi, Yobe: 110 schoolgirls seized
- 11 December 2020 – Kankara, Katsina: 300+ boys abducted
- 17 February 2021 – Kagara, Niger: 27 students taken
- 26 February 2021 – Jangebe, Zamfara: 279 girls kidnapped
- 11 March 2021 – Afaka, Kaduna: 39 students abducted
- 20 April 2021 – Greenfield University, Kaduna: 20 abducted
- 5 July 2021 – Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna: 120+ kidnapped
- 30 May 2021 – Tegina, Niger: 200 Islamic school pupils taken
- 17 June 2021 – Yauri, Kebbi: 11 abducted
- 2023–2024: More than 20 verified abductions in Nasarawa, Lagos, Enugu, Zamfara, Rivers, Kaduna and Imo
- 7 March 2024 – Kuriga, Kaduna: 287 pupils kidnapped
- 9 March 2024 – Sokoto: 15 pupils abducted
- 17 November 2025 – Kebbi: 25 students taken
- 21 November 2025 – Niger State: 303 students abducted
The list is far from exhaustive, but it paints a disturbing picture of a nation where schooling has become an act of courage.
A Future on Hold
Nigeria’s children are paying the price for structural failures in security, governance and social protection. Without a clear plan to secure schools, strengthen intelligence, regulate ransom negotiations and empower communities, experts warn that the country risks normalising an educational crisis with long-term consequences.
For now, parents send their children to school with a mix of faith and fear. And each time another classroom is invaded, Nigeria is reminded that the nation’s most vulnerable remain unprotected.
