President Bola Tinubu. Photo: State House
Children’s Day celebrations across the country on Wednesday were overshadowed by growing concerns over the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo and Borno states, with President Bola Tinubu, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and other stakeholders renewing calls for their safe return.
At least 82 pupils were abducted between May 13 and 15 during separate attacks in the two states.
In Borno State, 42 pupils were kidnapped after armed groups attacked schools in Askira Uba and Chibok Local Government Areas on May 13 and 14.
In Oyo, another 40 pupils were abducted on May 15 during coordinated attacks on Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, Community Grammar School and L.A. Primary School, Esiele, in Oriire Local Government Area of the state.
The Oyo attack also claimed the lives of a mathematics teacher, Michael Oyedokun, a motorcyclist and a security operative during rescue efforts.
In a personal statement to mark Children’s Day, which coincided with Eid-el-Kabir, Tinubu assured that the abducted children and teachers had not been abandoned.
The President lamented that some children who should have been celebrating with their families were instead being held by criminals.
Tinubu stated on Wednesday, “As we mark this special day, which coincides with Eid-el-Kabir, some Nigerian children and their teachers in Oyo and Borno should be with their families, but are being held captive by criminals.
“Some children have been forced into fear. Some parents cannot join today’s celebration because their hearts are set on one prayer, ‘bring our children home,’”
Speaking “as a father and your President,” Tinubu added, “To those children, their parents and their teachers, I say this: you are not forgotten. You are not abandoned.
“To the families grieving and despondent, your government will not turn your pain into ceremony.
“We will continue to work until children taken from their homes, schools and communities are returned safely, and until those who profit from this cruelty are brought to justice.”
Tinubu said he had directed security agencies to sustain coordinated intelligence-led rescue operations and ordered stronger protection measures for schools in vulnerable communities.
“The Federal Ministry of Education, working with state governments, is to deepen the implementation of the Safe Schools framework with clear reporting, clear responsibility and clear timelines.
“Every school in a vulnerable area must know whom to call, what to do, where to move, and how to protect children when danger is identified,” he said.
The President also promised support for children rescued from captivity.
Tinubu added, “We will also improve support for children who have survived abduction, violence and displacement. Rescue is not the end of the government’s duty.
“A child who returns from trauma must return to care, medical attention, counselling, education and dignity.
“I have directed the relevant ministries and agencies to ensure that recovered children receive proper reintegration support, not temporary attention,” he added.
We’re working – Makinde
Earlier in Ibadan, Governor Makinde sought to calm fears among residents and families of the abducted victims, assuring them that his administration was working tirelessly to secure their release.
The Governor spoke while receiving the Deputy Governor, Bayo Lawal, and other Muslim faithful at his private residence in Ikolaba, Ibadan during Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.
“The challenges that we have, especially in Oyo with our school children being kidnapped, we are working around the clock to ensure that the children are reunited with their families.
“So, I also use this opportunity to say to those who are in despair right now, that God Almighty will meet them at their point of need,” Makinde prayed.
He expressed sympathy with affected families and urged Nigerians not to allow political differences to divide them as the country approaches another political season.
The governor stated, “Well, let me use this opportunity to wish our Muslim brothers and sisters, and indeed everyone in Oyo and Nigeria, happy Eid celebration and I wish all of us many, many more of them in the land of the living.
“This is because we are moving towards a political season and for us in Oyo, we are very liberal and tolerant people. So, it’s difficult to use ethnicity or religion to divide us.”
He added that political offices were temporary and should never supersede national unity.
“Even as we move towards this political season, government will come and go but our state and our country remain. Even when we disagree with ourselves, it’s a temporary thing.
“In another seven or eight months, the President-elect would have emerged, the governors-elect would have emerged. And whoever emerges, we will have to work together in the interest of our state and our country with such individuals and a set of people,” he stressed.
At the Agodi Eid praying ground in Ibadan, Muslim faithful also offered prayers for the safe return of the abducted pupils and teachers.
The Chief Imam of Ibadanland, AbdulGaniyy Agbotomokekere, led special prayers seeking peace, improved security and divine intervention for affected families and communities.
Bamidele condemns abductions
In Abuja, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, condemned the activities of kidnappers and violent criminals, especially those targeting children, warning that the nation must not forget citizens still held in captivity.
Bamidele noted, “We must remember all our children and parents that are still held in the captivity of rogue elements in different parts of the federation, especially 87 children and teachers recently kidnapped in Borno and Oyo States.
“Holding these children in captivity is a breach of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. While we pray for them fervently, our security forces are committed to securing their release very soon and bringing them back to the warm embrace of their families.”
The senate leader pledged that the National Assembly would continue pushing for stronger laws and measures against kidnapping.
“We are finally committed to evolving a system that will mete out maximum consequences against all perpetrators of kidnapping and their allies.
“For us, kidnapping in all its ramifications is a crime against humanity, and it must be treated as such,” he added.
NUT raises concerns
The Nigeria Union of Teachers similarly expressed alarm over what it described as a dangerous shift by kidnappers toward targeting schools.
National President of the union, Audu Amba, said schools in volatile areas could face closure if urgent security measures were not taken.
Amba lamented, “As usual, our concern is the safety of our schools all over the country. The tune has changed completely now.
“The bandits and kidnappers are now focusing on our educational institutions, especially the school system. And what has been happening recently is completely not acceptable.”
He disclosed that the union had “directed schools in insecure parts of Oyo State to shut down” pending improved security arrangements.
“The teachers’ lives must be secured before learning takes place.
“If the bandit has decided to change the system in attacking our schools, the government should also set up their satellites to make sure that our schools are protected,” Amba added.
He warned that another attack on schools anywhere in the country could trigger a nationwide shutdown of schools.
“If measures are not taken, if by any chance such incidents again happen anywhere, there is going to be a total shutdown of our schools.
“Yes, that is our position. That is what we all resolved during our last meeting,” he warned.
CAN ‘deeply troubled’
The Christian Association of Nigeria also raised concerns over worsening insecurity and the growing vulnerability of schoolchildren across the country.
In a statement signed by its President, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, the association described the attacks on schools in Oyo as deeply troubling.
“For many Nigerians, the incident has once again raised painful questions about the safety of children and the future of education in an atmosphere of worsening insecurity,” the statement read.
CAN said it was “deeply troubled by the plight of children who remain in captivity and by the emotional agony their families continue to endure,” stressing that “no child should have to experience fear and violence in a place meant for learning, protection and hope.”
The association also highlighted the sacrifices teachers make daily in protecting and nurturing children.
“Teachers do far more than teach lessons in classrooms. They guide, protect, encourage and nurture children entrusted to their care every day.
“In many ways, they become trusted guardians and second parents to the young lives they help shape,” the statement added.
CAN warned that attacks on schools threaten the nation’s future.
“A country where parents are afraid to send their children to school and teachers are uncertain about their safety cannot claim to be securing its future,” it stated.
The National Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria also appealed to the FG and state authorities to strengthen the Safe School Project and improve security around educational institutions.
The National President of the association, Haruna Danjuma, said teachers and pupils could no longer feel safe in rural schools vulnerable to attacks.
Danjuma appealed, “Our concern is the safety of children and teachers. These incidents are not what we expected to happen.
“We are calling on the President and security agencies to come together to address this situation.”
The national president urged governments to relocate vulnerable rural schools to safer urban areas and improve training for teachers and students on emergency response during attacks.
“The government should invest heavily in securing our schools. Schools in rural areas should be relocated to urban areas. More hostels should be provided to accommodate those from the rural areas,” he said.
A non-governmental organisation, Amazing Grace Children Rights Foundation, also called on the FG and Oyo State authorities to secure the immediate release of the abducted pupils and teachers, warning that repeated attacks on schools were endangering the country’s future and deepening fear among children, parents, and teachers.
The NGO, in a statement by its founder, Grace Adeyemi, commemorating this year’s Children’s Day, said, “The implications of the attacks extended beyond the trauma inflicted on the victims and their families.
“The violence was already creating fear among children and teachers while discouraging learning across different communities.
“The government should not wait until the children of elites and notable public figures are kidnapped before providing adequate security in all schools and aggressively pursuing the release of those in captivity. As a mother, I am particularly pained to think of what these innocent children are passing through at the hands of these mindless beasts.”
Educators decry attacks
Also, the National Coordinator of Concerned Parents Educators, Kemi Koleowo, expressed deep anguish over the abduction of schoolchildren in parts of the country, describing the situation as “sad, traumatic and unacceptable,” especially as Nigeria marked Children’s Day.
Speaking with The Punch on Wednesday, Koleowo lamented that children, who she described as “the most vulnerable in society,” had been exposed to prolonged trauma through repeated abductions.
She said, “It’s rather unfortunate that we find ourselves in this kind of situation in this country. When you look at the whole situation, it is so sad, especially today (yesterday) that we are celebrating Children’s Day.”
“These children are the most vulnerable in society, and we have exposed them to this traumatic situation, which, even when they are rescued, how are they going to live a normal life?” she asked.
She called for stronger military coordination and what she described as “drastic measures” to address worsening insecurity around schools.
“I think there should have been a joint operation of the armed forces. Drastic situations require drastic measures,” she said.
Criticising what she described as government inaction, she added, “We are meant to be their (children) custodians. Every Nigerian, every human being in the world is entitled to live a secure life.”
Koleowo questioned the country’s long-term implications for children exposed to repeated kidnappings, warning that insecurity around schools could damage the future of the nation.
She added, “What message do you want to pass to the coming generation, that we are not safe? That children will go to school, and somebody will just go there and kidnap them?”
She further condemned what she called official complacency amid repeated attacks.
“It is not acceptable. It is so disgusting. It is so nauseating,” she added.
Also, the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools condemned the attacks, describing them as “heartbreaking, condemnable and unacceptable in a civilised society.”
In a statement signed by its National President, Yomi Otubela, made available on Wednesday, the association said the incident represented a direct assault on education and the country’s future.
“Schools are sacred centres of learning, character formation, and national development. Any attack on educational institutions is not only an attack on innocent children and teachers, but also a direct assault on the future of Nigeria,” the statement read.
NAPPS called for urgent rescue operations and improved security coordination to ensure the safe return of the abducted victims.
“We urge security agencies at both federal and state levels to intensify rescue operations to ensure the safe and immediate return of all abducted pupils, students, and school workers,” it stated.
The association also urged the government to move beyond reactive responses and implement comprehensive Safe School measures nationwide.
It recommended strengthened security architecture around schools, deployment of surveillance systems, improved intelligence sharing, and increased investment in school safety infrastructure.
NAPPS further appealed for collaboration among government, communities, and school owners, warning that continued attacks were eroding confidence in the education system.
The association expressed solidarity with affected families and the Oyo State Government, while mourning a teacher reportedly killed during the attack.
“Nigeria’s children deserve to learn in peace, not in fear,” it added.
The Punch
