Oluwatobi Adu 
ABUJA, Nigeria – Amnesty International has condemned Nigeria for failing to protect children amid rising attacks and mass abductions in schools across northern states.
Following reports from the Christian Association of Nigeria confirming 315 students and staff abducted in Niger State, the human rights organisation in a statement on Saturday warned that government inaction threatens the education and lives of thousands of children.
“The Nigerian authorities are failing children. Over 230 are in captivity this week alone, with hundreds of schools closed in Katsina, Plateau, and other states,” said Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria.
Sanusi criticised authorities for failing to learn from previous attacks and highlighted that fear has forced underaged girls out of school, often into early marriage. “No child should go through what children are enduring now. Education should not be a matter of life and death,” he added.
Amnesty called for immediate protection measures, investigations into the attacks as potential war crimes, and justice for victims.
The organisation warned that insecurity is creating a generational crisis in northern Nigeria’s education sector.
About the Author
Mirian Gom 
Hussaini Ibrahim 
Edino Chubiyo Cornelius