Save the Children has warned that the kidnapping of schoolchildren in Nigeria is a major threat to education. The organization says that over 1,680 children have been abducted since 2014, and that the fear of attacks is stopping some children from ever attending school.
In April 2014, the abduction from a school in Chibok made global headlines and sparked the #BringBackOurGirls movement and protests, which attracted public support from celebrities and public figures including Malala Yousafzai, Hillary Clinton, and then First Lady Michelle Obama.
However new data analysis by Save the Children reveals that attacks on schools have been continuing out the spotlight and highlights the violence that schoolchildren and teachers face across Nigeria.
In addition to the abductions, over 180 schoolchildren were killed and nearly 90 injured in 70 attacks between April 2014 and December 2022, with an estimated 60 school staff kidnapped and 14 killed. Twenty-five school buildings were reportedly destroyed during that period.
The majority of these attacks took place in North-West Nigeria (49 attacks), followed by North-Central Nigeria (11 attacks).
These attacks have long-lasting consequences for communities and for children’s access to education, often leading to the mass withdrawal of children from school and school closures. In Katsina state in the North-Western part of the country, nearly 100 schools remain closed due to insecurity, affecting the education of over 30,000 children.
In the aftermath of attacks, children and communities are left traumatised, and the majority do not receive psychological support.
During focus group discussions with affected communities, Save the Children staff found that many children were too scared to return to school. One girl, who survived the Chibok school attack, said: “I am afraid of being a victim some other day and afraid of dying or rape by the insurgents”
