Gunmen Attack Northern Nigerian School

A truck carries a banner of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign following a mass abduction of schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State in 2014 (Wikimedia Commons)

Gunmen abducted approximately 20 students, mostly female, from a university in northern Nigeria on September 22, 2023. Though security forces repelled them earlier in the day, the group returned later to complete the abductions. Security forces have since freed 14 of the 20 students, but community members fear that students’ safety will not improve. 

Terrorists and bandits frequently conduct kidnappings in northern Nigeria, creating an environment in which many children, especially girls, feel unsafe attending school. In July 2021, bandits raided Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna, Kaduna State, taking over 130 students hostage. Earlier that year, gunmen abducted 40 students from a boarding school in Kagara. While some armed groups, such as Boko Haram, conduct attacks in the hopes of dismantling Western education systems and building a radical Islamic state, others simply take hostages for payment. 

Attacks on Nigerian schools have decreased in frequency over the past few years, but the security situation in northern Nigeria remains fragile. Terrorist and bandit groups attract recruits disaffected by the region’s high unemployment and underdeveloped economy. Worryingly, the World Bank estimates that by 2025, the number of unemployed Nigerians will increase by 13 million. International aid agencies such as USAID have supplied textbooks, teachers, and other resources to expand education, but until schools are safe, students will continue to refuse education out of fear.