Abductions: Northern Women group faults closure of schools

…Demands emergency proactive response

The Voices for Inclusion and Equity for Women (VIEW) has disclosed that it was horrified by Nigeria’s deepening security collapse, declaring that the situation was no longer that of insecurity but that of terror on Northern parts of the country.

The body recalled that it called on the government last week, to ensure that appropriate measures were taken to bring back the abducted girls after their abductions from Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, and the devastating mass kidnapping of more than 300 children and teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State.

In the latest statement signed by Asmau Joda, Maryam Uwais, Mairo Mandara, Aisha Oyebode, Fatima Akilu, Kadaria Ahmed and Larai Ocheja Amusan on Tuesday,the women group frowned at the option of closure of schools in some parts of the region stating, “instead of responding with strategy, urgency, and courage, we are witnessing decisions that reflect panic rather than protection.

“The announcement that all schools in Niger and Kebbi States have been shut down, along with the closure of unity schools across the North, represents not security but surrender. VIEW has said it plainly and repeatedly: protect schools, don’t close them. Or otherwise provide alternative, efficient avenues for quality learning. A nation cannot safeguard its children’s future by shutting down their present.

“The North already carries the highest burden of female illiteracy in Nigeria, and girls face cultural, economic, and structural barriers to education. These sweeping school closures stifle their right to learn even further. Every shuttered classroom widens inequality; every child kept at home deepens fear & further deepens inequality. This is not protection; it is abandonment. It hands over the control of children’s education to violent actors and reinforces efforts, whether deliberate or through neglect, to keep northern girls uneducated and powerless.

Nigeria cannot continue this cycle of violence followed by retreat. Schools must be protected, not emptied. They must be secured and strengthened, not converted into symbols of helplessness. The children of Maga and Papiri, like Chibok, Dapchi, Yauri, Jangebe, and many other forgotten communities, deserve the full force of the State’s protection, not more hollow assurances and reactive closures.

“VIEW again demands a national emergency proactive response grounded in intelligence-driven rescue operations, transparent daily updates, and a serious rebuilding of Nigeria’s security architecture. We reject policies that punish children for the State’s failures. We reject the normalization of terror. Nigeria must respond with strategy and courage, not blanket school shutdowns that erode education and embolden attackers.

“Nigeria is once again failing its daughters and sons. The children of Maga and Papiri must be rescued, northern schools must be protected, and the future of our region must not be surrendered to fear. Education is an imperative for our girls, and for all our children.”

Signed,
Voices for Inclusion and Equity for Women (VIEW)
Asmau Joda
Maryam Uwais
Mairo Mandara
Aisha Oyebode
Fatima Akilu
Kadaria Ahmed
Larai Ocheja Amusan

Voices for Inclusion and Equity for Women (VIEW) is a North Central, Northeast, and Northwest Nigeria coalition committed to fostering equitable, inclusive, and just societies for women across the Nation.