(CNN) At least one million Nigerian children could miss school this year as the new term begins amid a rise in mass school kidnappings and insecurity, the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF said on Wednesday.
Schools have become targets for mass abductions for ransom in northern Nigeria by armed groups. Such kidnappings in Nigeria were first carried out by jihadist group Boko Haram then later its offshoot Islamic State West Africa Province, but the tactic has now been adopted by criminal gangs.
So far, there has been 20 attacks on schools in Nigeria this year, with more than 1,400 children abducted and 16 dead, UNICEF said, adding that more than 200 children are still missing.
“Learners are being cut off from their education… as families and communities remain fearful of sending children back to their classrooms due to the spate of school attacks and student abductions in Nigeria,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria.
More than 37 million Nigerian children are due to start the new school year this month, UNICEF said.
An estimated eight million have had to wait for more than a year for in-person learning after schools were closed due to COVID-19 lockdowns.
Insecurity also led to school closures in Nigeria. Several northwestern states have tried to curb the spate of abductions by banning the sale of fuel in jerry cans and the transport of firewood in trucks in order to disrupt gangs who travel by motorbike and camp in remote places.
In Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, the start of the school term has been pushed back to an unusually late date without explanation, after schools in nearby states were targeted by kidnappers seeking ransoms.
Mobile network providers in Zamfara state were directed to shut down communications for two weeks “to enable relevant security agencies to carry out required activities towards addressing the security challenge in the state,” the Nigeria Communications Commission said in a letter.
The directive came after at least 73 students were abducted from a state-run high school in Zamfara’s Maradun district. All those students have been freed.
Military authorities carried out targeted raids on the hideouts of kidnappers and other criminal gangs in the state, who are known locally as ‘bandits.’
Source: CNN
- FOH TEENS LEADERSHIP CLUB - March 15, 2023
- JAMB shifts 2023 mock UTME, reveals new date - March 14, 2023
- MARCH 2023 -TEENS LEADERSHIP CLUB MEETING - March 7, 2023
- TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE SAFETY OF CHILDREN IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM - March 2, 2023
- Buhari inaugurates girls’ education project - March 1, 2023
- JAMB suspends 2023 Direct Entry registration hours after opening - February 28, 2023
- SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT AND THE ROLE OF EDUCATION STAKEHOLDERS: EDUCATION IN FOCUS WITH MR. EBUKA OBIKA EDE “BOYS COACH” - February 23, 2023
- 7 steps to check your 2022/2023 WAEC results - February 21, 2023
- BREAKING: NECO releases 2022 SSCE external result - February 16, 2023
- INTENTIONAL PARENTING: EDUCATION IN FOCUS WITH MRS IFY OBIDI ESSIEN - February 16, 2023
Flickers of Hope is a Non-Governmental Organization with a primary focus on Education. We aim to educate, mentor, empower and equip young people, as beacons of hope for the nation.
Categories:
Hope for the Hopeless