Nigeria is once again confronting a terrifying assault on its youngest and most vulnerable, as Amnesty International delivers a scathing indictment of the government’s failure to protect school children amid an explosion of deadly abductions and school attacks across the northern region.
In a chilling revelation, Amnesty International confirmed that over 230 children were abducted this week alone in mass attacks on schools across Kebbi and Niger states—violent raids that not only snatched innocent pupils from their classrooms but also triggered the shutdown of hundreds of schools in Katsina, Plateau, and other states, throwing the education of thousands into chaos.
The organisation warned that these latest atrocities prove that Nigeria has learned nothing from past tragedies, where gunmen murdered and kidnapped school children with alarming ease.
“School children in parts of northern Nigeria are constantly at the risk of death or abduction,” said Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria. “More than 780 children were abducted in 2021 during mass attacks on schools or religious institutions. Some never returned.”
Amnesty’s report paints a grim picture of a region where the fear of schooling has become a daily reality. Teachers from Zamfara, Katsina and Niger states revealed that classroom attendance has crashed since 2021, with many children refusing to return even under parental pressure. In a disturbing trend, young girls are being married off prematurely, not out of culture, but out of raw fear—parents hoping marriage will shield their daughters from kidnappers who storm schools with impunity.
With hundreds of schools now indefinitely closed due to worsening insecurity, Amnesty warns of a looming generational catastrophe. The psychological trauma of surviving attacks or living in captivity, the organisation says, will force hundreds of children out of school permanently, leaving their futures shattered.
“When education institutions are targeted, the damage is far-reaching and long-lasting,” Sanusi stressed. “There is a deliberate attack on children by armed groups. Using children as shields or bargaining chips is unacceptable. These attacks must be investigated as war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Amnesty International condemned the Nigerian government's inability—or unwillingness—to safeguard its educational system, insisting that attacks on schools are clear violations of international law. The organisation called for urgent action to protect children, secure learning environments, and bring perpetrators to justice through transparent, fair trials.
“No child should go through what children are going through in northern Nigeria,” Sanusi lamented. “Education should not be a matter of life and death. Nigeria is failing children in a horrifying manner—again.”
As armed groups tighten their grip on communities, Nigeria stands at a dangerous crossroads. Without decisive action, the nightmare threatening the nation’s children may become the new normal—an unthinkable legacy for a country already battered by insecurity.