Securing Schools Against Terrorist Attacks

EDGY OPTIMIST By Obinna Chima

Every school day in Nigeria begins with hope. A mother wakes before dawn to prepare her child. A father sacrifices part of his income to pay school fees because he believes education offers a pathway out of poverty.

Children leave their homes carrying school bags, notebooks and dreams of a better future. Yet, in some parts of Nigeria today, that simple journey to school has become a frightening gamble.

This has been the case in recent times. For instance, Iluke Bunu community in Kogi State this week was greeted with tension and grief by gunmen who killed the Vice Principal of Government Secondary School, Iluke, and a six-year-old child.

All these attacks are coming when, for close to a month now, more than 80 children who were abducted in separate attacks on schools in Borno and Oyo states are yet to return home. What was once considered a regional problem has now become a national challenge.

What started with the attack on Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014, where Boko Haram abducted 276 schoolgirls, appears to be spreading. Some other notable cases include that of February 2018, when 110 schoolgirls were abducted from the Government Girls Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State; December 2020, when hundreds of students were abducted from a secondary school in Kankara, Katsina State; 2021, when students were kidnapped from the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation in Afaka, Kaduna State, while other attacks occurred in Kagara, Jangebe and Tegina. The nightmare continued in March 2024 when armed men stormed schools in Kuriga, Kaduna State, abducting nearly 300 pupils and students during morning assembly.

In November 2025, gunmen attacked a girls’ secondary school in Kebbi State, killing a vice principal and abducting 25 students from their hostel. Days later, more than 300 students and teachers were kidnapped from St. Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger State, one of the largest school abductions in recent Nigerian history.

Unfortunately, the threat has not diminished in 2026. These repeated incidents have not only disrupted day-to-day life but have also had lasting impacts on education.

Today, attacks on educational institutions have emerged as one of the most critical challenges affecting human capital formation in the country.

The impact of violent crimes and abduction on education is devastating and goes far beyond the immediate physical consequences of the attacks. The fear and uncertainty caused by terrorism have a lasting effect on families’ decisions to send their children to school.

These gunmen target educational institutions because they are comparatively soft targets and thus offer potential for mass casualties. Schools are more easily accessible simply because educational institutions are typically open to the public.

Today in Nigeria, there are communities where school enrolment has dropped significantly because parents prefer to keep their children at home rather than risk losing them to kidnappers.

The tragedy is that many of these attacks are preventable. Many Nigerian schools, particularly in rural communities, have no perimeter fencing, no surveillance systems, no trained security personnel and no emergency response plans. Some schools operate with only a gateman who lacks the training and equipment to respond to an armed attack. Some are located in isolated areas where security agencies may take hours to arrive at after distress calls.

Recent talks on how to address this issue have brought to the fore Nigeria’s Safe Schools Initiative which was established IN 2014. It also raises accountability concerns and the extent to which funds estimated at $10 million under THE late former President Muhammadu Buhari, earmarked for school protection, have translated into safer learning environments, particularly in vulnerable communities.

Also, the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, must partner with state governments in stabilising learning environments, restoring public confidence in the education system, and ensuring that no child is left behind.

In addition, the federal government must see to the implementation of its Smart School Protection Strategy, which Alausa launched a few months ago to strengthen security across schools nationwide through renewed collaboration with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

The Minister had described school protection as a “non-negotiable priority,” announcing the creation of a dedicated Department of Safe School Initiative to coordinate policy implementation, monitoring and inter-agency collaboration, with the NSCDC serving as lead operational agency.

Key components of the strategy included the deployment of smart security solutions such as emergency panic alert systems, rapid response mechanisms and enhanced command-and-control centres designed to enable intelligence-driven interventions.

However, despite these policy measures, stakeholders say school attacks have continued unabated, raising questions about implementation and enforcement.

Also, the directive that schools in high-risk areas should have perimeter fencing, controlled entry points and alarm systems must be implemented. There is also a need for solar-powered lighting and surveillance cameras in areas that do not have power supply or where it is not reliable. Dormitories should also be secured.

The government must ensure that community-based security networks are strengthened. In many rural communities, residents are often the first to notice suspicious movements. Traditional rulers, vigilante groups, community leaders must be involved in this arrangement in areas where they are not doing such already.

Equally, teachers and school administrators must receive security awareness training to identify suspicious behaviour, recognise early warning signs, and respond appropriately during emergencies. Periodically, drills should be conducted so that staff and students can understand evacuation procedures and emergency protocols.

Educational and security policies should be integrated to address not only immediate threats but also to mitigate the long-term effects of terrorism on education and mental health.  Mental health is often overlooked in policy discussions. Given the significant psychological impact of terrorism exposure on children and families, there is a need to integrate mental health support into educational and health services in schools.

Importantly, the international community must support Nigeria in disrupting and cutting off the funding sources of these gunmen and terrorist groups, while there is also need to empower and strengthen the local government system in the country to address the high level of rural poverty in the country.

At this point, I must not fail to commend the Department of State Services, which has continuously intensified its aggressive pursuit and prosecution of high-profile terrorism suspects and violent criminals in Nigeria. Recent judicial actions, including mass trials and high-risk operations, have led to significant convictions and ongoing trials.

Finally, the protection of schools must be viewed as a national security issue, an economic issue and a moral issue because a country that cannot guarantee the safety of its children cannot confidently speak about its future. Every parent should be able to send a child to school without fear, and every teacher should be able to teach without looking over their shoulder.