Kaduna, Nigeria – The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Kaduna State chapter, on Tuesday joined a nationwide solidarity rally to protest the persistent abduction of students and teachers across the country, calling on the Federal Government to urgently declare attacks on schools a national emergency.
Addressing journalists during the rally in Kaduna, the State Treasurer of the union, Comrade Sunday Garba, said the protest was driven by the growing insecurity in schools and the continued captivity of students and educators in different parts of the country.
According to him, teachers and schoolchildren have increasingly become targets of criminal attacks, creating fear within the education sector and threatening the future of the nation.
“We are gathered here today not by choice, but because our children, who represent the future of Nigeria, are in captivity. Teachers who are saddled with the responsibility of shaping the future of this country have been silenced,” Garba said.
He explained that the recent abduction of schoolchildren in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State served as the immediate trigger for the rally, noting that it reflects a disturbing pattern of attacks on educational institutions nationwide.
Garba recalled several high-profile school abductions that have occurred over the years, beginning with the 2014 kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, more than 90 of whom remain unaccounted for.
He further cited the 2018 Dapchi schoolgirls’ abduction in Yobe State, the 2020 Kankara schoolboys’ kidnapping in Katsina State, and a series of attacks recorded in 2021 in Niger, Zamfara, and Kaduna states.
The union also highlighted the abduction of students from Afaka and Greenfield University in Kaduna State, where five students were reportedly killed by bandits, as well as the kidnapping of over 100 students from Bethel Baptist High School in Chikun Local Government Area.
Garba noted that the trend has continued in recent years, referencing the abduction of 287 students in Kuriga, Kaduna State, in March 2024, the kidnapping of 25 girls in Maga, Kebbi State, in November 2025, and the reported abduction of more than 300 students and teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State, later that year.
He also cited the May 2026 abduction of 26 children from an orphanage-school in Kogi State and recent attacks on schools in Oriire, Oyo State.
“When a child is abducted, every schoolchild loses a piece of their freedom. When one teacher falls, every teacher stands afraid. Schools have become targets,” he lamented.
The union called on the Federal Government, security agencies, and relevant stakeholders to intensify efforts to secure schools and ensure the immediate rescue and safe return of all students and teachers currently held in captivity.
NUT maintained that the safety of schools must be treated as a matter of urgent national concern, warning that continued attacks on educational institutions pose a serious threat to the country’s future development.
Comments