With 18.3 million out-of-school children, Nigeria is likely to experience additional numbers owing to the continued attacks on schools across the country.
For years now, terrorists have continued to invade vulnerable schools located in hard-to-reach areas or in communities located far away from city centres. Since the first attack on Chibok School in April 2014, many other schools in the country have been attacked with lingering consequences.
The latest attack on schools in Oriire, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, has left many wondering what’s next. The affected students and pupils could be so scared as to drop out of school. The abducted teachers could drop their chalk for other vocations. This could ultimately lead to low productivity in schools.
Efriye Bribena, public affairs analyst, described the surging terrorist attacks on schools as being fuelled by a lack of political will to confront the monster.
‘What is fuelling the terrorists’ attacks in the country is the complicity of politicians and those in positions of authority.
‘The federal government has failed woefully in its primary responsibility of protecting lives and property; and in all sense of the word, Nigeria is a failed state,’ he said.
In March 2024, Nigeria witnessed a harrowing incident in which over 200 students from Government Secondary School in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State were abducted.
Many stakeholders expected the federal government to put measures in place to counteract the continuous attack on schools.
However, that was not to be, as in 2025, the federal government were forced by bandits to close 41 unity schools, even as governors of Kwara, Plateau, Niger, Benue, and Katsina also shut down schools in their states.
The tension escalated as bandits attacked St Mary’s School, a Catholic institution in the Papiri community of Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State, abducting 215 students and 12 teachers, four days after 26 schoolgirls were abducted from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi.
Jessica Osuere, chief executive officer at RubieHub Educational Services, said that everything boils down to a lack of political will.
‘You cannot keep pampering terrorists and expect things to change. Sadly, many of our leaders appear to do so because of politics. How can we say we are rehabilitating terrorists? Which serious nation does that?
‘Besides, we have a weak intelligence gathering system, poor protection of rural communities, poverty, and extremist ideologies that see education as a threat. The failure to consistently punish perpetrators has also emboldened criminal groups targeting vulnerable schools, students, and teachers,’ she noted.
Gift Osikoya, a teacher, emphasised that terrorist attacks on schools in Nigeria are being fuelled by poverty, unemployment, and the desire of terrorist groups to create fear and discourage Western education.
‘In some communities, lack of government presence and poor intelligence gathering also make schools easy targets. These attacks have greatly affected school enrolment, especially in Northern Nigeria, as many parents are afraid to send their children to school.
‘It has also reduced the quality of teaching and learning because teachers and students no longer feel safe,’ she said.
Ikemesit Effiong said what Nigeria is witnessing is not a random surge in violence, but a strategic evolution.
‘Terrorist groups, including factions of ISWAP and bandit coalitions, have realised that schools offer a triple prize: mass hostage leverage for ransom, explosive media attention, and the long-term crippling of state legitimacy in education.
At SBM, our data shows these attacks cluster in regions where the state’s security footprint is thinnest, and community trust in public education is already fragile.’
Effiong noted that the attackers exploit two key fuels: first, the economic calculus, kidnapping students yields faster payouts than most other criminal enterprises in the North; and second, the ideological angle, destroying Western education consolidates control over terrified populations.
Since 2022, the data from the National Personnel Audit (NPA) conducted by the Universal Basic Education (UBEC) indicates the total enrolment population of pupils in basic education institutions is at 47.01 million.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Nigerian Child 2025 Report revealed that around 10.2 million children of primary school age are out of school, with some reports adding figures for secondary levels, pointing to a total potentially over 18 million or even 20 million children facing educational exclusion.
This figure places Nigeria as home to the world’s highest number of out-of-school children.
Bribena said the way forward is for the government and those in positions of authority to rise up and live up to their responsibilities and provide governance.
‘Nigeria badly needs governance. What we have currently is a criminal enterprise running amok in the name of government,’ he said.
Osuere called on Nigerian leaders to wake up. ‘Security is the primary responsibility of the government. Any government that cannot secure the lives and property of its citizens has no business being in power.
‘They must do the needful, because if things continue this way, total anarchy looms. There is a point at which frustrated citizens may begin to take the law into their own hands in a bid to reclaim their communities.
‘Schools cannot thrive where fear and insecurity dominate,’ she emphasised.
Effiong called for the institutionalisation of local vigilantes and for parents to have real-time threat-sharing channels with security forces, not just unanswered hotlines.
Besides, he said, ‘Until ransom payments are systemically blocked and alternative livelihoods for armed groups are on the table, the attacks will persist.’