Catch Me If You Can!

Almost ten years ago on the night of April 14, 2014, Nigerians woke up to the distressing news which gradually turned into an unending nightmare. 276 female school children were abducted from a Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State in the middle of the night by members of the Islamic militant group Boko Haram. Many of these children, now young women are yet to be rescued and united with their families. 

Six years ago, on Monday February 19, 2018, at the Government Science Secondary School, Dapchi, in Yobe State, 110 students were forcefully taken from their hostels. Many including Leah Shaibu are still missing. Since then, the perpetrators of these abductions have become more emboldened and numerous attacks on educational institutions across the country have continued unabated.

Just last week, 287 school children were abducted from the LEA Primary and Secondary School, Kuriga in Kaduna State, and two days after, another 15 students were abducted in the same state while another 16 residents were abducted from Gonin Gora in Kaduna state on March 11. In a bold and unthinkable move, some of the bandits, terrorists or insurgents are allegedly demanding N40 trillion in ransom including 150 motorcycles and 11 Hilux vans. This latest incident marked the third mass abduction by armed insurgents in the last one week alone.

Nigeria is fast running out of steam in fighting the war against insurgency and the price for this failure is now heavily paid by children. School children have become the latest fodder by insurgents and terrorists demanding huge ransom from government and parents alike – many of these young children are never found and reunited with their families. For the girls, its double jeopardy as they are forced into a life of sexual slavery and forced marriage. 

While security agencies with the mandate to protect citizens in Nigeria are fast running out of runway, the abductors of these innocent children seem to be having a field day playing “catch me if you can” and evidently taunting our security agencies. Or how else do we explain the movement of 287 children in one day without any security alert? Some analysts say the abductors will require 144 motorcycles, 72 tricycles, 58 cars, 32 choppers, 24 12-seater buses, and 2 Boeing 737-800 to move that number of children successfully. Something is definitely not adding up.

It is time for the government and security agencies to stop playing catch up and truly live up to its most important duty as a sovereign state to protect its citizens. There are national and international instruments that Nigeria is signatory to particularly those for protecting schools and school children. Sadly, our long history of insecurity as a nation makes these latest strings of abductions just one more addition to our challenges. 

A Long History of Insecurity

Insecurity has been a longstanding issue in Nigeria with various contributing factors including ethnic and religious conflict as some of the key sources. Nigeria is a diverse country with over 250 ethnic groups and multiple religions. Tensions between different ethnic and religious groups have often led to conflicts, especially in the central and northern regions of the country. The insurgent group Boko Haram has been responsible for numerous attacks in the northeastern part of Nigeria, allegedly seeking to establish an Islamic state. The group’s activities have resulted in thousands of deaths, widespread violence, displacement of civilians, and destruction of property.

There have been clashes between herdsmen (predominantly Muslim) and farmers (often from Christian communities) over access to land and water resources. These clashes have resulted in significant loss of lives and property. In addition to these are the activities of criminal gangs operating in various parts of the country, engaging in activities such as kidnapping for ransom, armed robbery, and banditry. High levels of unemployment and poverty contribute to the appeal of criminal activities. In the Niger Delta region, militant groups have been active, demanding a greater share of oil wealth and environmental remediation due to the ecological damage caused by oil exploration and production. In the southeastern part of the country, the situation is also dire straits.

Corruption within the government and security forces undermines efforts to address insecurity effectively while citizens continue to pay the high price for these lapses. Weak governance, lack of accountability, and a slow justice system contribute to a sense of impunity among perpetrators of violence. Additionally, socio-economic disparities, high unemployment rates, and poverty exacerbate tensions and contribute to crime and instability, particularly in urban areas.

Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach, including efforts to address root causes such as poverty and inequality, improving governance and accountability, enhancing security sector reform, promoting inter-ethnic and inter-religious dialogue, and investing in education and job creation. However, progress has been slow, and insecurity remains a significant challenge for Nigeria despite existing commitments to regional and international principles for the protection of citizens including school children.

Safe Schools Declaration.

On May 28, 2015, the governments of Norway and Australia spearheaded the Safe Schools Declaration among the United Nations Members States. This led to an inter-governmental political commitment by member states to protect education including students, teachers, schools, and universities from the worst effects of armed conflict. The declaration emerged as a response to the increasing targeting of educational institutions during armed conflicts around the world. To date, 119 members states of the UN including Nigeria have joined this international political agreement.

According to the Global Coalition to Protect Schools from Attack, the Safe Schools Declaration outlines a set of commitments to strengthen the protection of education from attack and restrict use of schools and universities for military purposes. It seeks to ensure the continuity of safe education during armed conflict. The Declaration was opened for countries to endorse at the First International Conference on Safe Schools in Oslo, Norway, in May 2015.

In March 2017, Argentina hosted the Second International Conference on Safe Schools, further building upon the development of a global community dedicated to protecting education in armed conflict. In May 2019, Spain hosted the Third International Conference on Safe Schools in Palma de Mallorca, and in October 2021, the Nigeria hosted the Fourth International Conference on the Safe Schools Declaration in Abuja. Nigeria is a signatory to the Declaration and owes its citizens and children the implementation of these key commitments, but our schools are far from safe.

Make Schools Safe.

In 2022, Nigeria signed and launched the over N144 billion Safe Schools Financing Plan to complement and implement the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools as part of the country’s commitment to the Safe Schools Declaration. Despite being a signatory to the Safe School Declaration, many schools in Nigeria are not safe for children. Where are we on this?

The Safe Schools Declaration calls for measures to prevent and mitigate the impact of attacks on educational facilities, including promoting awareness of the rights of students and educators, enhancing accountability for violations, supporting victims of attacks on education, providing assistance to affected communities in rebuilding educational infrastructure and restoring access to education. How are we holding government accountable?

It is evident that we can no longer afford to negotiate with abductors of children from schools. This is not a game, certainly not for the hundreds of parents and family members whose children are in captivity. The call is simple – make schools safe for children – it is the least our government can do for citizens who have no means to provide security for themselves. This is not the time to negotiate with terrorists, bandits, or insurgents. Their nomenclature is irrelevant at this time, what’s more important is the safe return of our children to their families. Government needs to make schools safe, period!