Northern Nigeria Faces Education Collapse with Thousands of Schools Shut, Amnesty Raises the Alarm

Wale Igbintade

Amnesty International (AI) has warned that Nigeria is on the verge of losing an entire generation to insecurity following the indefinite closure of 20,468 schools across seven northern states in the aftermath of last week’s mass abduction of more than 300 children and teachers in Niger State.

In a statement issued by the Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, the global human rights body said the Nigerian government’s persistent failure to prevent or adequately respond to the repeated abductions of schoolchildren and teachers is putting the future of millions of young people in jeopardy.

According to Amnesty, since the kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls in 2014, the organisation has documented at least 15 mass abductions targeting schools in the northern region.

Sanusi said the abductions were evidence of a consistent and dangerous pattern of security lapses and the government’s inaction.

“What we are witnessing right now in the northern part of Nigeria is an assault on childhood. The authorities are utterly failing to guarantee the safety and security of schoolchildren and teachers. Hundreds of towns and villages have for years endured frequent attacks by gunmen,” Sanusi stated.

He added that the ongoing crisis constitutes a gross violation of Nigeria’s constitutional and international human rights obligations, including the responsibility to safeguard the rights to life and education under the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Sanusi warned that the mass closure of schools, which state governments in Bauchi, Benue, Kwara, Plateau, Niger, Yobe, and Katsina say is a temporary measure to prevent attacks, could have long-term devastating consequences.

He noted that the organisation’s investigations revealed that many schools shut down following abductions in 2021 were never reopened, and thousands of affected children were not provided alternatives.

“Many schools closed to prevent abductions remain shut indefinitely because security is not improving. As a result, thousands of children are forced into working to support their families,” Sanusi said, noting that these closures come on top of existing barriers that already limit access to education in northern Nigeria.

Amnesty added that the climate of fear is also driving families to withdraw their children, especially girls, from school.

He added that in many cases, underage girls are being married off early as families view marriage as a means of protecting them from kidnappers.

The organisation cited a troubling pattern of security warnings being ignored, pointing to the abduction of 25 schoolgirls in Maga, Kebbi State, on November 17, which occurred despite earlier security intelligence indicating the school would be targeted.

In the case of the Papiri abduction in Niger State, the government claimed the school had ignored a security alert.

But the Catholic Archdiocese of Kontagora, the school’s owner, rejected the claim and challenged the state authorities to provide evidence.

Amnesty said the recurrence of such contradictions underscores a larger failure in security coordination and crisis response.

It also accused the government of repeatedly failing to investigate past abductions or bring perpetrators to justice.

It said this pattern of impunity has deepened public distrust and fueled allegations of covert ransom payments.

“Victims and their families continue to be denied access to justice. Authorities have never fulfilled promises to investigate the incidents or prosecute those responsible,” Sanusi said.

Amnesty urged the Nigerian government to deploy “maximum available resources” to secure schools, reopen those that have been shut, and ensure that all children, particularly those in rural communities, can safely return to the classroom.

It also called for prompt, independent, impartial, and transparent investigations into all mass abductions since 2014, as well as accountability for security failures that allowed the incidents to occur.

“Nigeria has ratified the major human rights treaties guaranteeing the right to education. Authorities must live up to their legal obligations and end the violent attacks on schools and communities,” Sanusi stressed.

Amnesty International said the scale and frequency of attacks have created an unprecedented emergency for the education sector in northern Nigeria, one requiring immediate, comprehensive government response.