A report released by Save the Children International (SCI) has revealed that about 70 schools were attacked and 1,683 school children kidnapped across Nigeria between February 2014 and December 2022.
The report is titled, “Education Under Attack: Review and Analysis of Attack on Schools, Teachers, and Learners from the Kidnapping of the Chibok Girls, Borno, Nigeria in 2014”.
The consultant who developed the report, Augustine Mamedu, while presenting the findings in Abuja on Thursday, August 17, 2023, stated that 184 learners were killed while 88 others were injured within the period.
Mamedu added that about 60 teachers and other school workers were also kidnapped; 14 were killed, while 25 school buildings were destroyed.
He noted that since the Chibok incident in February 2014 when about 276 girls were kidnapped, the spate of kidnappings has been on the rise.
He added that the reports also revealed a geographical shift in the kidnappings of learners from the North-East to the North-West and North-Central zones.
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Mamedu disclosed that between 2014 and 2022, five schools were attacked in North-East, 49 in North-West, 11 in North-Central, three in South-South, and two in South-West.
The consultant said: “The report also showed that 28 schools have been attacked in Kaduna State within the period, with 17 schools attacked in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state alone.
“In Katsina State, 99 schools were closed, affecting 30,870 learners.”
He stated that the report recommended increased investment in safe schools and the implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD) across the country and closure of boarding facilities located in communities with no security posts.
Speaking at the event, the Country Director, SCI, Famari Barro, called for the full implementation of the SSD signed in 2015 to protect school children from kidnapping and other vices.
Barro said SSD was a political commitment endorsed by the Federal Government to protect children, teachers and school facilities from attack, and use of school facilities during arm conflict.
He said globally, attacks on education, schools, children, and their teachers as well as the use of school facilities by security agencies during conflict were on the increase.
Responding, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Andrew Adejo, expressed the ministry’s commitment to ensuring a safe school for every child through the implementation of the SSD.
Adejor, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Secondary Education, Joseph Achede, said the ministry was working hard to address the problem.
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