Meeting

World Press Briefing on the Kidnapping of School Children in Oyo, Borno and Other Parts of Nigeria Delivered by the Civil Society Action Coalition on Education For All, CSACEFA Date: Monday, 8 June 2026 | Venue: Abuja, Nigeria Education is Under Attack: Keep Our Schools Safe, Rescue Every Child, Protect Every Teacher, Secure Every School Members of the press, distinguished partners, representatives of civil society, education stakeholders and fellow Nigerians, The Civil Society Action Coalition on Education For All, CSACEFA, convenes this press briefing in response to the disturbing and repeated kidnapping of school children, teachers and education personnel in Nigeria. As Nigeria’s national education coalition working on education advocacy, accountability, policy engagement and service delivery for basic and secondary education, we are deeply saddened, angered and alarmed by recent attacks on schools and school-related movements in Oyo State, Borno State and other parts of the country. Why This Moment Is Particularly Worrisome The recent attack in Ahoro Esinele community, Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, where at least 39 school children and seven teachers were reportedly abducted, including children from a secondary school and two primary schools, is a painful reminder that schools are becoming targets of violence. Reports also indicate that one teacher was killed in captivity and security operatives were wounded during a rescue attempt. Within the same period, suspected militants reportedly attacked Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, where 32 students were reportedly abducted from the school and 10 others seized from nearby homes, bringing the reported number of missing pupils to 42. These incidents are not isolated. They form part of a growing pattern of attacks on education, where children, teachers, parents and school communities are made targets of fear, violence and trauma. For CSACEFA, this is not just another security incident; it is an attack on childhood, learning, families and Nigeria’s future. Nigeria has signed, endorsed and adopted international, regional and national commitments affirming every child’s right to safe, inclusive and quality education. Nigeria endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration on 29 May 2019 and has a National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools released by the Federal Ministry of Education in 2021. Yet children continue to be kidnapped, teachers targeted, schools closed and communities left in fear. This gap between policy commitment and children’s lived reality must end. This moment is even more troubling because the Government of Nigeria, together with the Government of Italy, is co-hosting the 2026 replenishment campaign of the Global Partnership for Education, GPE, which seeks to raise US$5 billion for the GPE Fund and mobilise US$10 billion in co-financing for education systems. Nigeria cannot stand on the global stage to mobilise education financing while, at home, children are being abducted from schools and parents are afraid to send children to classrooms. This is not a good narrative for Nigeria; it weakens our moral voice and undermines national credibility. The Trajectory of School Attacks and Kidnappings in Nigeria The kidnapping of school children in Nigeria did not begin in 2026. In April 2014, 276 schoolgirls were abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State. Amnesty International reported in 2024 that 82 of the Chibok girls were still in captivity ten years after the abduction. Since Chibok, Nigeria has witnessed repeated school abductions in Dapchi, Kankara, Kagara, Jangebe, Afaka, Tegina, Bethel Baptist, Kuriga, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, Oyo and other communities. Available public reporting indicates that since 2014, at least 1,900 students from about 20 schools have been abducted. Amnesty International also warned in November 2025 that repeated abductions are putting a generation at risk, especially after 20,468 schools were reportedly closed across seven states following a major school abduction in Niger State. The crisis now cuts across regions: North-East, North-West, North-Central and South-West. It affects basic and secondary education; boys and girls; teachers, parents and entire communities. Attacks on education are spreading, deepening and becoming normalised. This normalisation must be rejected. Verified Snapshot of Major Incidents Year State / Region Reported Incident Reported Figure / Notes 2014 Borno / North-East Chibok Government Girls Secondary School 276 schoolgirls abducted; 82 reportedly still in captivity as of 2024. 2018 Yobe / North-East Dapchi Government Girls Science and Technical College 110 schoolgirls abducted. 2020-2021 Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger Kankara, Jangebe, Afaka, Tegina, Bethel Baptist and others Hundreds of boys, girls, pupils, students and teachers abducted across basic, secondary and tertiary institutions. 2024 Kaduna / North-West Kuriga school community 227 pupils reported abducted, including 187 secondary and 40 primary pupils. 2025 Niger / North-Central St Mary’s School, Papiri 303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers reportedly abducted. 2026 Borno and Oyo Mussa Primary/JSS, Askira-Uba; Ahoro Esinele, Oriire LGA 42 pupils reported missing in Borno; 39 schoolchildren and seven teachers reportedly abducted in Oyo. Schools Must Be Safe Havens, Not Terror Zones Schools are supposed to be safe spaces where children learn, grow, dream and build their future. They are not places where children should be hunted, abducted, traumatised or killed. How many of these children will have the courage to return to school? How many parents will allow their children back into classrooms if government cannot guarantee safety? When schools become terror zones, parents lose trust, children lose confidence, teachers lose motivation and communities lose hope. Government must not allow the enemies of education to gain the upper hand. Human, Educational and Economic Impact School kidnapping destroys learning, worsens Nigeria’s out-of-school children crisis and deepens poverty. UNICEF states that about 10.5 million Nigerian children aged 5-14 years are not in school, while only 61 percent of children aged 6-11 regularly attend primary school and 35.6 percent of children aged 36-59 months receive early childhood education. Every attack pushes more children, especially girls, out of school. Abduction also causes fear, nightmares, anxiety, depression, withdrawal and learning difficulties for children, while parents and teachers carry lasting trauma. Families lose income, spend scarce resources searching for children or relocating, and communities are pushed deeper into insecurity. Stop Politicising