– Damilola Olufemi, Helen Okechukwu, Fatimah Idera, and Yunusa Umar
Despite the government’s reassurance to tighten security surveillance across the country, Nigeria has yet again witnessed another attack in the north-western part of the country.
The recent abduction of 25 female schoolchildren of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, which occurred in the early hours of Sunday at Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, approximately 4:00am. The kidnappers arrived on motorcycles in an apparently well-planned attack that has left fear and anxiety in the minds of citizens.
The kidnapping of the 25 students comes after over 11 years ago Boko Haram fighters abducted 276 girls from their school in the town of Chibok, Borno State.
For many Nigerians, the memories of the 2014 Chibok abduction, the 2018 Dapchi kidnapping, and other mass kidnappings are still fresh. Some Chibok girls remain unaccounted for. Mothers fear that history is repeating itself.
Reports indicate that the kidnappers, known as shot dead the vice principal, Malam Hassan Makuku, of the all-girls school before leaving with the children.
Although security personnel, including vigilantes, had been deployed after the abductors transported their victims to their hideout, the northern part of the country has become a target, with hundreds of children being kidnapped over the years.
In a 2024 report, 287 students were reported missing, despite the revelation that 137 children had regained freedom.
Between Sunday, November 16 and Tuesday, November 18, several major insecurity, kidnapping and killing have taken place in various parts of the country.
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters on Monday killed a Brigadier General, Musa Uba, following the ambush of a convoy of soldiers and operatives of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Borno state.
The terrorists ambushed the troops on Friday at Damboa Road along Wajiroko in Borno when they were transporting some military equipment.
The ISWAP fighters reportedly opened fire on the military convoy along the road — an incident that led to a gun duel between the troops and the insurgents.
Shortly after this, on Monday, November 18, bandits attacked a parish of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in the border-town of Eruku, Ekiti Local Government Area, on Tuesday evening, November 18, 2025. At least two people were killed and one injured in what authorities describe as a “barbaric” assault on worshippers and a frightening reminder of the growing insecurity that has gripped Nigeria’s border communities.
According to the police, the attack occurred at about 18:00 hours when gunshots erupted from the outskirts of the town. The DPO for Eruku, alongside police operatives and vigilante collaborators, responded swiftly, causing the hoodlums to flee into the bush.
Amnesty International reports that it has been over a decade since the abduction of 276 Chibok schoolgirls occurred in Borno State in 2014, with hundreds allegedly still held captive. Now, the country has witnessed another abduction of 25, raising further concerns about the security challenges faced in the African giant.
The kidnapping, another addition to the grim list of school abductions, has stirred outrage and renewed calls for urgent action.
For many Nigerian mothers, including citizens the incident feels like a recurring nightmare.
Mothers speak
Speaking on the recent abduction, mothers who spoke to New Daily Prime, including women leaders expressed their sadness over the incident.
A one time woman leader in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA of River State, Nancy Eleberi, expressed her displeasure and explained the pain of raising children in a hard economy, enrolling them in school, only for them to end up in the hands of kidnappers.
“When they get to school, we hear that they’re kidnapped. That means there is no adequate security in that school,” she said. “I feel bad. Since this thing has happened before in 2018, the government is supposed to be very careful and put good security in those government schools, even private ones, to ensure the safety of our children. Chibok girls that they kidnapped years back in 2018, not all of them have come back. I don’t even know how many that have come back.
Expressing further, she blamed the government for the insecurity challenges faced in Nigeria, recalling how some video circulated online showed some government officials seated in the midst of some kidnappers.
“How will children be missing like that?” Mrs Eleberi questioned. “The ones that are missing, they’ve not gotten them back. Another one has happened. There have been subsequent ones that have been happening before now.”
Mothers don’t not sleep when their children are in danger
One of the women leaders from Etche Local Government Area in Rivers State, Mrs Ebony Nwuke-Ibe, described the news as heartbreaking and unacceptable.
“As a mother, I feel pain. As a Nigerian, I feel that the system has again failed us,” she said. “We are still talking about the Chibok girls — and now this.”
She emphasised that parents send their daughters to school to secure a better future, not to face danger or lifelong trauma.
“The uncertainty alone is frightening. We don’t know if these girls have eaten, if they are being beaten, or what conditions they are in,” she said. “It is a painful situation.”
Nwuke-Ibe questioned the government’s silence and what she believes is selective efficiency in security operations.
“When someone makes a statement online, the government can pick the person within hours. But when terrorists move in hundreds on motorbikes, they suddenly claim not to know where they are,” she said. “Who is benefiting from this? Why the silence?”
Schools in vulnerable areas be closed down
A social development worker at a non-governmental organisation (NGO) Ketbetkeche in Rivers state, Dr Confidence Otiko, echoed similar concerns, describing the kidnapping as a “near-death experience” for the teenagers involved.
“These are young girls taken against their will, at midnight, surrounded by fear,” she said. “Even if they return home, the trauma will remain. It will be a recurring memory in their lives.”
She expressed deep worry about what the girls may be facing.
“Being moved to deserts, secluded areas, and places where they might be tormented… It is dreadful. The fear alone can break a child.”
Otiko criticised the lax security in many northern schools, where boarding facilities operate without adequate protection.
“When we know that bandit activities are rampant in these areas, why are boarding schools still running without tight security?” she asked.
She also raised a concern she believes is often ignored, “If you check well, the majority of the abducted girls are not Muslim girls. Many are Christians. We must ask ourselves why.”
She accused the government of remaining aloof while communities suffer.
“I watched a clip of hundreds of bandits riding into a community with their faces open. The community knew they were bandits. If the government wanted to trap them, they would,” she said. “This is not the time to stay aloof. Lives are being endangered.”
“Today it is their children, tomorrow it could be somebody else’s. The government should not wait until it affects people in power.” Ibe added saying “this is not the Nigeria our heroes sang about. A nation that cannot protect its children has failed.”
Confidence in nation’s security shattered
For Mr Onyemauche Chibuchi, another Nigerian and graduate of University of Port Harcourt deeply affected by the latest kidnapping, the incident is a blunt demonstration of the country’s deteriorating security climate.
He described the Kebbi attack as “a confirmation of the high level of insecurity in Nigeria,” pointing out that killings and kidnappings have become frequent headlines across the North, particularly targeting Christian communities.
“It’s not as if we didn’t know insecurity was high — but this is just another proof,” he said.
When asked how the incident affects his confidence in the government, Chibuchi explained that many Nigerians have long lost trust in the nation’s security institutions.
“Most people’s confidence has already been demolished. There’s no foundation or pillar left,” he said. “So I can’t say this incident reduced my confidence, because before now I didn’t have any trust in the system.”
Speaking on the emotional impact, he expressed deep pain, “Only someone without humanity would say they’re not affected. What if it was someone I know? A cousin? A neighbour’s child? These girls have fathers, mothers, siblings. It is very painful — very painful.”
Chibuchi believes that simply shutting down boarding schools in the North will not permanently solve the problem.
“If bandits can come at 1 a.m. to pick students, what stops them from coming at 7 a.m. when school closes?” he asked. “Closing hostels won’t prevent kidnappers who are determined.”
Instead, he suggests that communities must strengthen local vigilance and infrastructure.
He noted that community measures should include installation of CCTV cameras, streetlights around school premises, development of community check points, construction of strong gate systems with multiple controlled access points and encourage local surveillance structures where legal and possible
“Schools should not be easy to access. There should be at least 3–5 gates, proper checkpoints, and surveillance. Communities must find ways to protect themselves because the threat is real,” he said.
Call for proactive action
Nigerian mothers who spoke with our correspondence made clear recommendations, stating that immediate steps are needed suggesting the government to deploy well-coordinated intelligence operations to track the kidnappers, strengthening security architecture around schools, especially boarding facilities.
Other suggestion includes, the conduction of transparent investigations into security failures and ensure that rescue efforts are not politicised.
“These girls are the leaders of tomorrow,” Otiko said. “Their safety must come first.”
As parents wait in anguish and communities pray for the safe return of the girls, the repeated failures of Nigeria’s security apparatus remain an open wound.
Nigeria cannot continue this way, the mothers who spoke with this newspaper clearly stated, “we cannot continue outsourcing our outrage,” Ibe said. “These girls are our collective responsibility.”
Tinubu assures Nigerians of students’ return
The has assured Nigerians and families of students abducted in Maga, Kebbi, that the Federal Government will deploy all instruments of state to ensure the return of the schoolgirls.
Tinubu’s assurance came on Wednesday from Vice President Kashim Shettima during his visit to Kebbi to commiserate with the government and people of the state, days after the abduction of the students.
Shettima, who touched down at the Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport alongside the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Nentawe Yilwatda, and other members of his entourage on Wednesday, described the incident as unfortunate.
He said the President’s priority is the safe return of the schoolgirls. Shettima commended security agencies for their sacrifices.
The full list of the 25 kidnapped students has been published.
