More than 1,000 Nigerian students have reportedly been kidnapped for ransom by criminal groups in the country’s northwest and central areas since December 2020, according to UNICEF. The country is becoming a no-place for children because kidnapping has become a business, and parents are pulling their children out of school. For instance, some schoolchildren who had been taken from an Islamic seminary three months prior returned in a van on August 27, 2021, as they were finally freed from their armed captors from their hiding places in the forest to reconnect with their parents in Minna.
As a result of the widespread issue of kidnappings in northern Nigeria, many parents have expressed their preference for having their children quit school rather than risk having them taken by bandits. Because of the ongoing insurgency, about 11,000 schools across seven states in Northern Nigeria have been forced to close their doors over the course of the past several years, and approximately 1000 of those schools have been completely destroyed or suffered significant damage. At the same time, more students have been kidnapped.
The fear of being kidnapped made everybody flee for their life.
Girls, on the other hand, are the most vulnerable to this attack. A girl named Hausa’u Salisu, who is only 14 years old and from the northern part of Nigeria, has also decided to quit school after her parents told her to no longer attend school. Salisu disclosed to DW News that before the involvement of the bandit, they had normal lives similar to any other person. Even before attacking them, the kidnappers struck the nearby villages. They had to leave their schools and haven’t been able to go back since being displaced. Teachers have also fled the school out of concern for their own safety.
Furthermore, in her hometown of Bakon Zabo, where she was raised, thousands of young girls like her live in constant terror of being kidnapped if they attend school. Her dream of becoming a medical doctor has been dashed to pieces due to the ongoing assaults. In addition, all of her acquaintances and classmates have been dislocated and are currently living in different cities, towns, and villages. She went on to say that some were killed while others were being held hostage by the bandits.
2014 Chibok adoption rocked the nation to its very foundation.
In Nigeria, kidnapping is a recurring concern. However, the kidnapping of more than 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014 by Boko Haram, an Islamist militant organisation, rocked the nation to its very foundation. Only 57 of these schoolgirls were able to get away, and it is unknown what happened to the other victims. It wasn’t until 2016 that the first victim was discovered. By 2022, eight years after the catastrophe, the Nigerian military located two of the Boko Haram victims.
The BBC reports that the two hostages had given birth while they were being held captive since they were found with two children, while it’s thought that other victims were pressured into marrying their captors and converting to Islam under threat of death. The abduction of the schoolgirls from Chibok was not an end to the problem; instead, it was a component of a more widespread issue in Nigeria. In February 2021, the Northern state of Zamfara saw the abduction of over 200 young women.
Abduction in Nigeria is now more profitable than the oil business – Yehusa.
Moreover, abducting appears to be a lucrative business in the country, and the abductor’s motivations likely include spreading fear and making a profit. According to a kidnap ransom negotiator Yehusa Getso, who spoke with DW News, abduction in Nigeria is now more profitable than the oil business. Its reach grows wider every day. It doesn’t matter to them who you are. One’s familial background is irrelevant to them. They don’t care if you are rich or poor, he added. The government hasn’t done much to counter the jihadist insurgency and keep innocent people safe.
Related Link
UNICEF: Website
Snopes.com
Nigerian parents take children out of schools – UNICEF- 11,000 schools in seven Northern states shut down as kidnapping strives. – Express your point of view.
We need to put our children back in school as soon as possible. It will s unfortunate UNICEF is still projecting that we have a lot of students outside of school. We need to enrol them in school very early.
The Nigerian government must take swift action to ensure the safety of children and educators in the affected areas. This includes providing security for schools, working with relevant stakeholders to address the root causes of the crisis, and ensuring that abducted children are safely reunited with their families.Through such actions can Nigeria safeguard its children’s future and secure a prosperous future for the nation as a whole.
UNICEF- 11,000 schools in seven Northern states shut down as kidnapping strives. When a country vis not well structured that is what they experience. Security issues not yet settled
The kidnappers see kidnapping as a very lucrative business and they do it and go scout free without any arrest or punishment,this has really encourage them to continue their bastard act.The number of students out of school put out by UNICEF maybe more because the insecurity is very high over there.
Government needs to curb the danger of insecurity plaguing the country and scaring off mothers to release their children to school. Starting from the northern part of the country there is little to no peace in the area.
Poor security in the country have make parent take their children out from school and our children need to be in school to get educated so many school have shut down in northern state which is not good
It’s sad that our country is not safe for children, there is no form of security or protection for these kids and they are very vulnerable to attacks from bad people and that’s terrible.
It is mind-boggling to learn that the administration has not made significant efforts to suppress the insurgency and kidnappings or to protect the safety of innocent people.
11,000 school shutdown in the north and parent pulling out their children from school due to insurgency.It seems the Federal Government and the Nigerian Armed Forces are sleeping and out of ideas on how to combat the banditry, terrorist and all forms of insurgencies in the north. The military are able to stage fight against the unknown gun men in the south east but couldn’t replicate the same in the north. What an irony. The little cat of yesterday has now grown to a mighty lion terrorizing everywhere in the north. Federal Government should act without bias and end insurgency in the north otherwise it will end the nation called Nigeria.
The government of Nigeria needs to move quickly in order to protect the children and adults who work with them in the places that have been affected.
The level of unrest occasioned by the level terrorism in the northern part of the nation as led to the shutdown and abandoning of 11,000 schools even parents are pulling their children from schools. Our government need to act fast to stem down this menace.
The lack of safety in the country has caused many parents to pull their children out of school. This is problematic since our kids have to be in school in order to obtain a quality education.