The National Association of Nigerian Students on Friday raised alarm over the rising wave of insecurity in Nigeria, warning that attacks on schools are putting the future of the nation’s children and its education system at serious risk.
The alarm comes following the violent incident of Monday, where 25 schoolgirls were abducted from the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State. During the attack, the school’s vice-principal was also killed.
Earlier on Friday too, gunmen invaded another school, St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area in Niger State, abducting students and staff.
NANS National PRO, Adeyemi Ajasa, in statement released on Friday, expressed “profound sorrow and grave concern” over the growing attacks on schools, calling them “deliberate and strategic offensives by criminal elements seeking to induce widespread educational displacement and institutional breakdown.”
Highlighting the recent attacks, the students’ association said: “The recent, targeted assaults on academic institutions are neither isolated occurrences nor random acts of violence. They represent a deliberate and strategic offensive by criminal elements seeking to induce widespread educational displacement and institutional breakdown. The abduction of students in Kebbi State stands as a grim testament to the escalating brutality of these non-state actors.”
NANS image-maker in the statement warned that the constant threat of violence is forcing students into an impossible choice between pursuing education and protecting their personal safety.
“These incidents have forced countless students into a distressing dilemma: the need to choose between the pursuit of education and the preservation of personal safety. Such a reality is unacceptable in any civilized society, and its continuation threatens the stability, development, and global standing of Nigeria,” the statement read.
The association also called on the Federal Government to end “piecemeal interventions and reactionary measures,” issuing clear demands for both the government and security agencies.
“To the Federal Government: The era of piecemeal interventions and reactionary measures must end. The government must demonstrate unequivocal political will by dismantling the operational networks, funding channels, and logistical lifelines of terror groups. NANS demands immediate, large-scale investments in modern surveillance systems, fortified community-based security frameworks, and the implementation of comprehensive rural protection policies. The unconditional rescue and reintegration of every abducted student must stand as an urgent national priority.
“To the Nigerian Military High Command and all security agencies: There must be a decisive shift from reactive operations to proactive, intelligence-driven, and strategically coordinated security interventions. Enhanced inter-agency collaboration is imperative to eliminate redundancies, improve rapid-response capabilities, and ensure continuous monitoring of at-risk educational zones. The protection of schools and academic communities should be elevated to a central pillar of national security strategy,” NANS added.
Ajasa emphasised that while NANS mourns the loss of innocent lives and prays for the safe return of abducted students and citizens, the association remains committed to ongoing dialogue with all relevant stakeholders.
“NANS remains steadfast, vigilant, and uncompromising. While we mourn the tragic loss of innocent lives and pray earnestly for the swift and safe return of all abducted students and citizens, we reaffirm our commitment to sustained, constructive engagement with all relevant stakeholders. Our advocacy will remain formidable and unyielding until the security of every Nigerian student is guaranteed without ambiguity or exception,” he said.
NANS in the statement warned that “The future of Nigerian education cannot and must not be surrendered to the forces that seek its destruction.”
