Amid a wave of schoolchildren abductions in Nigeria, security experts have highlighted the need for strengthened security, especially in remote communities where schools are more vulnerable to terrorists’ and bandits’ attacks.
A former State Security Service director, Mike Ejiofor, described the perennial school abductions as unfortunate and disturbing, hailing the deployment of forest guards to some affected communities.
Stressing that security challenges were largely local, Mr Ejiofor urged the governments at all levels to support local security outfits, such as Amotekun, with sophisticated ammunition to keep local communities, including schools, safer.
“It’s a right step that the government has deployed 1,000 forest guards in Oyo and Kaduna. But you can see that vigilantes such as Amotekun didn’t carry heavy arms capable of outsmarting the terrorists. So, the government should arm them alongside the state police,” he stated.
Mr Ejiofor also advocated for the speedy establishment of state police with sophisticated weapons, adding that they will better understand complex community terrains and address challenges more effectively.
Tinubu, governors, security chiefs ‘disconnected from reality’
Security expert Charles Omole described the country’s security challenges as extraordinary, noting that “many of those currently in positions of authority appear increasingly disconnected from the realities on the ground and, in some cases, bereft of fresh ideas” to address them.
To keep schools and communities safe, Mr Omole urged the government to convene a high-level, non-partisan expert group comprising serving and retired security professionals, intelligence experts, technologists, academics, community leaders and policy practitioners to identify quick wins and innovative interventions that can be implemented without delay.
“It is time to crowdsource solutions. No government, no matter how capable, can afford to shut out ideas when lives, communities, and national stability are at stake. We cannot continue doing the same things that contributed to our current challenges and expect different outcomes.
“Nigeria’s security challenges are too important to be left to official circles alone. The country needs a national conversation, a national mobilisation, and a national search for solutions. Patriotism demands that we put ego aside and embrace wisdom from wherever it comes,” he stated.
According to Ajayi Okasanmi, a former police spokesman in Kwara, mass school abductions in Nigeria are not random events, noting they were a result of several challenges, including governance, social and economic factors.
Noting that schools become soft targets for attackers because many of them, especially in rural communities, lack perimeter fencing, emergency response plans and effective security presence, Mr Okasanmi urged the government to address the root causes of the problem.
“A lot can be done to address this challenge. The government should address the root causes of the problem: unemployment, rural underdevelopment, poverty and a poor justice system. This should be done alongside the full implementation of the Safe School Initiative. Many schools have not aligned with this project on the major requirements that could prevent attacks.
“Human security system is key. For instance, every school must have a strong relationship with the community to enhance safety by engaging trusted community members.
“This should be done alongside the training of local security guards. The schools should also have a school security risk assessment. They should assess the opportunity or the possibility and the high-risk areas which can prevent attacks in these areas,” Mr Okasanmi, now retired as a police officer, explained.
Godson Nweke, a security consultant, attributed the mass school abductions to the lucrativeness of ransom payments, widespread economic hardship and weak security infrastructure, advocating multi-pronged, non-negotiable strategies, including “intelligence-driven military operations and community-led security networks”.
“Bandits often target schools to pressure the government into accepting their terms and paying them ransoms. The tragedies in Borno, Oyo, Kebbi and other states, particularly, continue because rural communities are vulnerable due to little or no security,” said Mr Nweke. “Political will is key to addressing this. I mean, government must be willing to stop the trend by exploring on-the-ground, intelligence-based strategies.”
Bello Adebayo, a lecturer and national development advocate, said that mass student abductions across Nigeria has affected the nation’s education system, discouraged school enrolment, increased dropout rates, undermined public confidence in education, and jeopardised national development.
Highlighting the need for proactive and technology-driven security measures, Mr Adebayo stated, “Deploy advanced security technologies; strengthen intelligence gathering and information sharing; secure the country’s land borders.”
The academic also advised the government to promote community participation in security, remove politics and religious sentiments from security matters, and improve governance and accountability.
Musa Buko, a sustainable development advocate based in Kwara, said that protecting school environments from attacks requires both long- and short-term measures, including training school stakeholders to handle and respond to emergencies.
“There should be deployment of more special security units around schools, especially those in remote areas and close to international borders or forest environments. There should be deployment of surveillance drones around school areas,” Mr Buko stated.
While urging the government to empower local vigilantes to better respond to attacks, Mr Buko noted that local government areas should be given financial and administrative autonomy to boost effective governance at the grassroots.
Ameen Akeem, a lecturer and community development advocate, noted that schools should be equipped with “adequate security measures, including perimeter fencing, controlled entry and exit points, security personnel, alarm systems, and surveillance cameras.”
Mr Akeem added that schools in high-risk areas should also be prioritised for additional protection and regular security assessments.
It has been over a month since terrorists invaded Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School in Esiele and Yawota communities in Oriire local council of Oyo state, kidnapping dozens of schoolchildren and their teachers.
The question on everyone’s mind is: Which school will be attacked next?
Nigerian schools as terrorists’ playground
Mass schoolchildren abductions have become commonplace in Nigeria. Previous mass kidnappings include the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno, in 2014; 110 schoolgirls from Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe, in 2018; and 300 schoolboys from Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina, in 2020.
In 2021 alone, several school abductions took place in various states, including 42 students and staff in Kagara, Niger; 279 schoolgirls in Jangebe, Zamfara; 39 students in Afaka, Kaduna; 136 pupils in Tegina, Niger; and 121 students in Kaduna.
In 2024, bandits invaded LGEA teachers’ primary school, Kuriga, Chikun LGA, Kaduna, and kidnapped 287 pupils and teachers. Days later, they also stormed Gidan Bakuso in the Gada Local Government of Sokoto State, kidnapping 15 Tsangaya students.
Months later, about 227 schoolchildren, including teachers, were kidnapped from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Niger, in November, 2025. The incident came days after bandits abducted 25 schoolgirls from a government-owned girls’ school in Maga, Kebbi.
In April 2026, armed men abducted 23 pupils from Daarul-Kitab Islamic Orphanage and School in Zariagi, Lokoja, alongside the proprietor’s wife. In May, no fewer than 42 students were abducted after suspected Boko Haram fighters invaded a school in Mussa, Askira-Uba LGA of Borno.
