UN Stresses Safe Havens For Learning Amid School Attacks
Nigeria’s education sector faces renewed pressure from armed group attacks on schools, with the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr Malick Fall, urging stronger collective commitment to safe, inclusive and violence free teaching and learning environments.
Mr Fall made the call after meeting a delegation from the National Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre in Abuja. The team was led by its Commandant, Dr Samuel Umanah. The discussions focused on recent abductions of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo and Borno States and expressed solidarity with affected families, school authorities and communities.
He noted that these abductions have resulted in the horrific killing of two educators, a development he described as worrisome. The coordinator stressed that the protection and upholding of children’s right to education in safety and dignity must be prioritised.
He called for the full and diligent implementation of the Minimum Standards for Safe Schools, the strengthening of emergency response mechanisms and an efficient data driven approach to protect schools and vulnerable children.
“We are deeply saddened that these school children and their teachers are still being held by armed groups. Schools must remain safe havens for learning and not places of fear. Children should never be a target. These incidents underscore the urgent need to strengthen the protection of children, educators and learning spaces,” he said.
Mr Fall commended ongoing efforts by the government and security agencies to tackle the situation. He urged intensified action to secure the safe and swift return of all abducted schoolchildren and teachers and to bring perpetrators to justice.
The appeal comes against a backdrop of persistent threats to schools that date back more than a decade. The 2014 abduction of 276 girls from Chibok in Borno State by Boko Haram marked a major turning point and drew international attention to the vulnerability of learning institutions. Since then, public records and conflict monitoring show repeated mass abductions targeting schools, with incidents spreading across regions and affecting thousands of children and staff over the years.
Analyses of recent cases indicate at least nine major school abduction incidents since 2023, involving hundreds of students and educators. The Minimum Standards for Safe Schools, developed by the Federal Government with support from partners, set requirements for infrastructure, emergency preparedness and protection from violence and conflict. Monitoring reports have pointed to uneven implementation across states, reinforcing the value of coordinated and evidence based responses.
By highlighting a data driven approach, Mr Fall’s intervention draws attention to the need for systematic information to guide prevention, rapid response and long term protection of education.