Prominent Northern women under the aegis of the Voices for Inclusion and Equity for Women (VIEW) have faulted closure of schools by the state and Federal governments in the North in wake of the rising insecurity and abductions in the region.

The body recalled that it had called on the federal government last week, to ensure that appropriate measures were taken to bring back the abducted girls after their abductions in Kebbi and Niger States.

In the latest statement signed by Asmau Joda, Maryam Uwais, Mairo Mandara, Aisha Oyebode, Fatima Akilu, Kadaria Ahmed and Larai Ocheja Amusan on Tuesday, the women group frowned at the option of closure of schools in some parts of the region, stating that “instead of responding with strategy, urgency, and courage, we are witnessing decisions that reflect panic rather than protection.”

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The women noted that closing schools does not provide security; instead, it amounts to surrendering to the terrorists.

“The announcement that all schools in Niger and Kebbi States have been shut down, along with the closure of unity schools across the North, represents not security but surrender,” the group said.

The VIEW asked the government to “protect schools and don’t close them.”

Alternatively, the group asked government to provide efficient avenues for quality learning.

“A nation cannot safeguard its children’s future by shutting down their present,” it declared.

Continuing, the group said “The North already carries the highest burden of female illiteracy in Nigeria, and girls face cultural, economic, and structural barriers to education. These sweeping school closures stifle their right to learn even further. Every shuttered classroom widens inequality; every child kept at home deepens fear & further deepens inequality. This is not protection; it is abandonment. It hands over the control of children’s education to violent actors and reinforces efforts, whether deliberate or through neglect, to keep northern girls uneducated and powerless.

“Nigeria cannot continue this cycle of violence followed by retreat. Schools must be protected, not emptied. They must be secured and strengthened, not converted into symbols of helplessness. The children of Maga and Papiri, like Chibok, Dapchi, Yauri, Jangebe, and many other forgotten communities, deserve the full force of the State’s protection, not more hollow assurances and reactive closures.

“VIEW again demands a national emergency proactive response grounded in intelligence-driven rescue operations, transparent daily updates, and a serious rebuilding of Nigeria’s security architecture. We reject policies that punish children for the State’s failures. We reject the normalization of terror. Nigeria must respond with strategy and courage, not blanket school shutdowns that erode education and embolden attackers.

“Nigeria is once again failing its daughters and sons. The children of Maga and Papiri must be rescued, northern schools must be protected, and the future of our region must not be surrendered to fear. Education is an imperative for our girls, and for all our children.”