By 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 students from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, which occurred in the early hours of Sunday around 4:00 a.m. in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, can be described as a well-planned attack. The kidnappers arrived on motorcycles to carry out their premeditated act.
This visit comes 11 years after the Boko Haram terrorist group abducted 276 girls from their school in Chibok, Borno State, and more than seven years after the same militant group abducted 110 girls from Government Girls’ Technical College, Dapchi, in Bursari Local Government Area of Yobe State.
For many Nigerians, the memories of the 2014 Chibok abduction and the Dapchi kidnapping remain fresh. Nigerians are concerned that history is repeating itself and the northern part of the country has become a target, with hundreds of children being kidnapped over the years.
Mothers speak
Speaking on the recent abduction, mothers who spoke to New Daily Prime, including women leaders expressed their sadness over the incident.
A former women’s leader in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA of Rivers State, Nancy Eleberi, expressed her displeasure and described the pain of raising children in Nigeria’s harsh economy, especially 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 those schools,” she said. “I feel bad. Since this has been happening since 2018, the government ought to be more careful and provide proper security in government schools, and even private ones, to ensure the safety of our children. As for the Chibok girls kidnapped years back, not all of them have returned. I don’t even know how many have come back
Expressing further, she blamed the government for the insecurity challenges faced in Nigeria, recalling how videos circulated online showing some government officials seated in the midst of kidnappers.
“How will children just go missing like that?” Mrs. Eleberi questioned. “The ones who went missing before have not been found. Now another incident has happened, and there have been several others before this..”
Mothers do 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 should 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 showing hundreds of bandits riding into a community with their faces uncovered. The community knew they were bandits. If the government really wanted to trap them, they could,” she said. “This is not the time to remain 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.
Tinubu assures Nigerians of students’ return
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu 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.
