The National Association of Nigerian Students says Nigeria’s internal security system has failed in its duty to protect students, following a new wave of school abductions across the country.
In a statement personally signed on Wednesday, NANS National President, Olushola Oladoja, said the Safe School Initiative had remained ineffective despite heavy funding and repeated government assurances.
Oladoja said students had endured a cycle of grief for more than ten years, with no justice or real reform. He noted that many schools had fallen to terrorists under conditions that showed poor coordination, intelligence failures and leadership complacency.
He blamed police leadership and other internal security heads for what he described as a complete breakdown in preventive security, saying their failure had emboldened terrorists to repeatedly target schools.
“The failure of these offices to coordinate intelligence, enforce preventive security, and protect defenceless students is unacceptable,” he said.
Oladoja referenced the recent Kebbi school attack where terrorists struck shortly after a reported troop withdrawal, raising fears of internal sabotage. He urged the National Security Adviser, Minister of Defence, Chief of Defence Staff and Service Chiefs to set up a high-level investigation panel to probe alleged insider collaboration.
He said the panel must examine security lapses, command failures and repeated troop withdrawals before major attacks.
Oladoja warned that students were demanding accountability and a verifiable plan to secure all schools, including an overhaul of the Safe School Initiative.
He said failure to act would force NANS to embark on nationwide civil disobedience, including shutting down highways, airports and staging peaceful mass demonstrations.
“We can no longer stand by while terrorists destroy what remains of our education system. The era of silence is over,” he said.
He added that securing students was non-negotiable and said NANS was ready to defend the Nigerian student identity through dialogue or mass action.
Northern Nigeria has seen a fresh rise in attacks on schools, prompting several state governments to shut down learning centres.
On Monday, armed attackers raided Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, abducting at least 24 schoolgirls and killing the vice-principal.
Days later, gunmen stormed St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Niger State, abducting hundreds of students and staff. Fifty students have since escaped.
