Wave of kidnappings unsettling schools, education in Abuja

Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) now live in palpable fear. Not left out are soft targets like schools, where teachers and students now embrace truancy as a virtue, to evade kidnappers, OWEDE AGBAJILEKE reports.

These are tough times for parents, teachers, and children in Abuja, as bandits take over the capital city, raising concerns over the safety of schools in FCT.

Investigations by The Guardian showed some of the black spots notorious for criminal activities in the city to include: the Julius Berger roundabout, central business district, Maitama, Asokoro, Mabushi, Apo roundabout, Galadimawa, Airport road, Wuse 2, Lugbe all in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC); Cashew forest, Kwaku, Gwombe, Gadoro and Tukuba in Kuje Area Council; Kawu, Igu, Tokulo, Gaba, Zuma 1 and 2, Shere, Mpape, Jikoko, Berger Quarry, and Nukuchi Villages in Bwari Area Council as well as Gwagwalada and Kwali Area Councils.

While the development appeared to have defied solutions, stakeholders in the education sector said the recent spike in insecurity has raised concerns over the safety of schools in the nation’s capital.

They expressed fears that this could hinder the country from achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, which targets inclusive and equitable basic education for all school-age children by 2030, as well as the Federal Government’s education roadmap. 

The roadmap, titled: “Education for renewed hope agenda: Roadmap for the Nigerian education sector 2024- 2027,” consists of 24 thematic areas. These include taking 15 million out-of-school children back to the classroom; recruiting and training more female teachers and those with disability in unity schools; and developing and implementing strategies for public-private partnerships (PPPs) to improve education.

Also, implementing the Safe Schools declaration at all levels, strengthening the education management information system for effective decision-making, reviewing and integrating foundational literacy and numerical skills into the curriculum for learners in a non-formal setting, and implementing the national policy on safety, security and violence-free schools at all levels.

Data from FCT’s Universal Basic Education Board revealed that the nation’s capital has 559 primary schools (including nomadic schools) with 214,929 pupils, as further checks from the federal ministry of education indicated that there are over 176 government-approved secondary schools in Abuja.

In the same vein, the city also hosts over 20 tertiary institutions, comprising seven universities, two polytechnics, seven vocational institutes, two colleges of education as well as two schools of nursing.

In 2023 alone, FCT recorded over 50 kidnap cases involving more than 300 victims, while N654 million was paid as ransom between 2021 and 2022. A 2020 report by SB Morgen ranked the nation’s capital 11th among locations with frequent abductions, a stark revelation of the evolving security landscape in the region.

In a statement to mark the International Day of Education, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) lamented that the recent violent attacks in some parts of Nigeria have disrupted the learning of more than 1.3 million schoolchildren.

UNICEF representative in Nigeria, Cristian Munduate, said there is a need for collaborative efforts to improve school safety, adding that only 6,000 schools met the 43 per cent minimum standard of safety in the learning environment in Nigeria.

While reminding that education is crucial to advancing social and economic growth, Munduate lamented that many Nigerian children do not have access to learning.

She said: “A recent evaluation indicated that on average, only 43 per cent of the minimum standards for safe schools are being met in about 6,000 assessed schools. This finding particularly highlights challenges in ensuring the safety of school infrastructure, and in mitigating risks, such as violence, conflict and natural hazards.

“While Nigeria has shown commitment to creating a safe school environment through the safe school initiative and developing the minimum standards, there is room for further progress,” she said.

Describing education as a key driver of gender equality, economic growth, and social development, the UNICEF chief said it has remained inaccessible to many Nigerian children.

According to her, the educational journey of such children is often disrupted by attacks on communities and schools, including abduction.

“These challenges are particularly acute for adolescent girls, potentially stalling the progress made in girls’ education in Nigeria. She said: “Recent attacks on schools in 2021, have led to learning disruptions for over 1.3 million children, necessitating precautionary school closures. This highlights the urgency of addressing school safety comprehensively. UNICEF calls for a multi-sectoral approach to improve school safety, informed by the performance of states on the minimum standards for safe schools.”

With increased cases of kidnapping in FCT, stakeholders have expressed fears that unless the Nigerian government steps up security, a repeat of the 2022 scenario, where it directed the closure of all public and private schools in the capital city over rising insecurity and fear of terrorists’ attacks, may be imminent.

Speaking on the development, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) raised the alarm that some of its members no longer go to school for fear of being abducted.

Immediate past chairman of the union, Dr  Stephen Knabayi, told The Guardian that some members are still in kidnappers’ den as at the time of filing this report.

Knabayi pointed out that teachers in FCT had to engage in crowdfunding to raise ransoms demanded by kidnappers, stressing that those already released are yet to recover from the psychological trauma.

“In some remote places in FCT, including Kuje, Bwari, and Kwali area councils, teachers no longer go to work because they are prone to attacks.” While urging security agencies to nip the trend in the bud, Knabayi called on the Federal Government to adopt comprehensive planning and allocate adequate resources for schools’ safety.

He said: “We are affected as teachers, even before the present administration came on board, we have written, expressing how bad we felt, coming up with useful suggestions on how schools could be better secured, and teachers kept safe.

“Sadly, not much action has been taken because kidnapping has remained an ongoing thing and teachers are not spared. It’s a serious concern and we are not happy,” Knabayi lamented.

On the impact of the rising insecurity on education, Knabayi, who is also chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in the FCT, said it negatively affects teaching and learning standards.

He noted that when a teacher is kidnapped, it rubs off on others as they become demoralised, adding that once this happens, the input is less, and this invariably affects the quality and standard of education.

“You hear teachers contributing money to secure the release of their colleagues in captivity. And even when it is done once, there is no guarantee that such won’t happen again. Learning is affected negatively when a teacher or pupil is kidnapped,” Knabayi lamented.

Acknowledging concerns sparked by recent incidents of kidnapping and other criminal acts, the Defence Headquarters, last week, announced the deployment of special forces aimed at conducting targeted operations to eliminate bandits, terrorists, and criminal groups threatening the peace and security of the region.

In addition to the deployment of Armoured Personnel Carriers, it was gathered that some tertiary institutions have gone a step further to ensure round-the-clock patrol by armed guards within the precincts of their respective schools.

For instance, the management of Veritas University, Abuja, has assured parents that the school is safe for students, members of staff and visitors.

The Head of Corporate Affairs and Communications of the institution, Ben Agande, said the school had deployed both internal and external security for intelligence gathering within and around the campus, to promote safety and security at all times.

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has also assured of its readiness to ensure the safety of students and teachers in their respective schools.

The spokesperson for the agency, Idoko Aleyichen, said the command has trained personnel and equipped them with the necessary knowledge and tools to forestall attacks on schools and guarantee the safety of students and teachers.

Aleyichen said the command embarks on routine patrols in the capital city and urged schools to register with its National Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre (NSSRCC) to be on its database. He disclosed that the command has periodically sensitised schools, students and their parents on safety tips, which is still ongoing.

“Under the safe school programme, the commandant-general has directed every school to register with the NSSRCC, so that they can be added to the eco-system of safe school. When that is done, the school will be visited by the centre to assess the extent of vulnerability, and then proffer solutions as necessary.

Through this, Aleyichen said the school would have direct access to the response centre for quick intervention when there is distress or any form of emergency.

President of the National Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, called for the relocation of schools in rural areas to urban centres.

Danjuma said the body has already made presentations to the government on how best to tackle the challenge, expressing concerns that schools in rural areas are more vulnerable to attacks than those in urban areas.

He said: “We have drawn government attention to the matter. We even suggested that schools in rural areas should either be well-manned by security personnel or move the pupils to urban areas.

“Where it will not be possible to move all the students and teachers, let government at local and state levels mobilise security personnel to be on the ground for the period of teaching in those schools,” Danjuma stated.