No fewer than 603 students and teachers have been kidnapped in seven mass abductions across schools in Nigeria between March 2024 and May 2026 under President Bola Tinubu, as poor implementation of the N145 billion Safe Schools Initiative exposes pupils to armed attacks.
The repeated attacks have raised questions over the effectiveness of the school safety programme Initiative, introduced after the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction, with stakeholders blaming weak implementation, lack of infrastructure and poor security presence in many schools.
The development has triggered renewed concerns over the safety of learning environments across the country.
A media tally of reported incidents across Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kogi, Borno and Oyo states show that the victims were abducted in coordinated school raids by armed groups, with stakeholders warning that the crisis reflects the weakening implementation of school protection policies.
The figure, which covers only major mass abductions, may be higher if isolated incidents involving primary, secondary and tertiary institutions are included.
