The Amazing Grace Children Rights Foundation warned on Children Day that attacks on schools and the kidnapping of students have become a dangerous trend mortgaging Nigeria’s future. The group said the latest wave of abductions has left children and educators fearful, and it urged the government to move quickly to secure schools and free those still in captivity.
Grace Omoye Adeyemi said more than 100 students were kidnapped in May alone, including 47 students and teachers taken on May 15 from nursery, primary and secondary schools in Oriire Local Council of Oyo State. Around the same period, roughly 50 students were abducted in Borno State, while separate attacks in Katsina and Zamfara states led to the capture of numerous students and educators. Adeyemi said the pattern is spreading fear through classrooms and into homes.
Children Day, marked on May 27, is the date the foundation uses for its annual Be Bold programme, and this year it is still going ahead in Lagos. The event will be dedicated to praying for kidnapped children, encouraging young people to speak out against abuse and reassuring them that a better tomorrow is possible. Internationally renowned coach Precious Ifeanyichukwu will serve as keynote speaker.
The foundation’s warning lands at a time when school attacks are no longer isolated shocks but a recurring threat. Adeyemi said the government should not wait until the children of elites or notable public figures are taken before providing security in all schools and pursuing those in captivity, and she called on corporate organizations, Parents/Teachers Associations and civil society to join in protecting Nigerian schools. The message behind the Children Day appeal is plain: the fear now shaping classrooms has to be confronted before it hardens into a normal part of childhood.
