From Chibok to Oyo: Nigeria’s school abduction persists despite rising security spending

…School abductions hit 2,416 students across 13 states in 12 years ]1“1098wa  

…Defence expenditure rose by 55% to $2.1bn in 2025

From Chibok in 2014 to the recent abduction of pupils in Oyo State, Nigeria has recorded 26 school attacks and the kidnapping of 2,416 students across 13 States in the last 12 years, highlighting the persistence of a security challenge that has defied billions of naira in Government intervention and security spending.

The figures come as pupils and teachers abducted from schools in Oyo State remain in captivity, reigniting concerns over the effectiveness of government efforts to secure educational institutions and protect children from increasingly criminal groups.

Weeks after 39 pupils and seven teachers were abducted from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, the prolonged captivity of the victims has sparked nationwide outrage and triggered an indefinite strike by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), which is demanding the immediate rescue of the hostages and stronger protection for schools across the country.

The Oyo abduction, which occurred on May 15, 2026, is the latest chapter in a crisis that has haunted Nigeria for more than a decade. From the mass abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014, to repeated attacks in Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, Niger and other states, school kidnappings have evolved from isolated incidents into a recurring national security challenge.

According to data compiled by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), Nigeria recorded 26 major school attacks between 2014 and 2026, resulting in the abduction of 2,416 students across 13 states.

Kaduna State accounts for the highest number of abducted students, with 499 victims recorded in four major attacks between 2021 and 2024.

Zamfara followed with 414 students kidnapped, while Katsina recorded 402 victims. Niger State witnessed 430 student abductions, while Borno State, where the Chibok tragedy occurred, accounted for 318 students.

Other affected States include Kebbi, Yobe, Nasarawa, Kano, Ekiti, Sokoto, Kogi and Oyo.

Experts warn that the trend highlights the growing vulnerability of educational institutions, particularly in rural communities where schools often lack perimeter fencing, trained security personnel and emergency response mechanisms.

The resurgence of school attacks comes despite increased government spending on security.

A policy brief by the Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics (AERE) noted that Nigeria’s defence expenditure rose by 55% to $2.1 billion in 2025. Yet, violent conflicts claimed 4,654 lives during the year, while 3,141 kidnappings were recorded in 1,274 incidents nationwide.

The report described the situation as a paradox in which more resources are being committed to security without corresponding improvements in safety outcomes.

“More money is being spent, yet insecurity continues to worsen. The kidnap-for-ransom industry generated at least N2.57 billion between July 2024 and June 2025, with the money funding the purchase of arms, motorcycles, and the recruitment of new fighters

“This is not a problem that military operations alone can solve. As long as these economies remain intact, armed groups will continue to regenerate,” the report stated

According to the report, banditry alone was responsible for 2,724 deaths in 599 incidents in 2025, representing a 72% increase compared to the previous year.

The AERE report noted that armed groups operating in the North-West have developed sophisticated funding networks through illegal mining, extortion and kidnapping for ransom.

It added that one notorious bandit leader reportedly earns as much as N300 million weekly from illegal gold sales, while the kidnap-for-ransom industry generated at least N2.57 billion between July 2024 and June 2025.

“The numbers are not abstract. Each of the 4,654 people killed in 2025 was a father, a mother, a child, a farmer, a teacher. Each of the 3,141 people kidnapped was a human being subjected to terror, trauma, and the humiliation of a State that could not protect them. The N5.6 trillion lost to insecurity is not just an economic statistic – it is the cost of schools not built, hospitals not equipped, and futures not realised”, the report stated.

According to the report, these revenue streams allow criminal groups to purchase weapons, recruit fighters and sustain operations despite military offensives.

The report further warned that insecurity could worsen ahead of the 2027 general elections, citing growing alliances between terrorists and bandits and the expansion of armed groups into previously less-affected States.

To reverse the trend, AERE proposed a five-pillar framework built around intelligence reform, community participation, decentralized policing, economic disruption of criminal networks and interventions targeting poverty and unemployment.

Central to the recommendations is what the group describes as the “Presence Before Protection” doctrine, which calls for greater government visibility in conflict-affected communities through schools, healthcare facilities, roads and other public services.

The report also recommends formal recognition and regulation of community security groups, drawing lessons from the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Borno State, which played a significant role in supporting efforts against Boko Haram.

“Nigeria has the resources, the talent, and the institutional capacity to resolve this crisis. What has been lacking is the political will to make the difficult structural reforms that are required to overhaul intelligence agencies, to devolve policing, to dismantle illicit economies, and to invest in the communities that have been abandoned by the State”, it noted.

The organisation identified intelligence failures, weak community engagement, illicit economies and poor governance as key drivers of the crisis.

“The Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics LTDGTE submits that the window for
decisive action is narrowing. The 2027 elections are approaching, and Nextier’s analysis warns that political tensions will further fuel violence. The government must act now not with incremental adjustments to a failing strategy, but with a bold, comprehensive, and sustained commitment to the security and dignity of every Nigerian citizen.

“The bandits know our plans within minutes. It is time for the government to know theirs”, the organisation indicated.

For Kenneth Nteh, an educational psychologist, the repeated attacks on schools expose what he describes as the failure of the Safe School Initiative launched by the government after the Chibok abduction.

He questioned how schools without basic perimeter fencing could be considered protected, noting that many rural schools across the country remain exposed to attacks.

“The Safe School Initiative does not exist in practical terms

“How many schools have perimeter fences? How many schools in rural communities have trained security personnel? Before talking about safe schools, the government should first ensure that schools are fenced and adequately secured,” Nteh said.

He argued that school security should begin with basic infrastructure and awareness programmes that teach pupils and teachers how to respond during emergencies.

Nteh also advocated regular training for school security personnel and stronger collaboration between schools and nearby security agencies.

Beyond physical security, analysts believe the broader insecurity crisis is being sustained by a thriving criminal economy.

Nteh warned that unless decisive action is taken, school kidnappings risk becoming normalised.

“We are no longer talking about attacks on places of worship or markets alone. Schools are supposed to be safe havens. The highest weapon you can find in a school is a stone or catapult. Yet children and teachers are being targeted repeatedly,” he said.

For many Nigerians, however, policy debates offer little comfort as families continue to endure the trauma of abductions.

As the Oyo pupils and teachers enter their third week in captivity, the incident has once again exposed the fragility of Nigeria’s school safety architecture and revived difficult questions about whether the lessons of Chibok have truly been learned.

For parents, teachers and students across the country, the answer remains painfully uncertain as public anger over the prolonged captivity of the Oyo pupils and teachers continues to grow, with many Nigerians questioning the effectiveness of security efforts to locate and rescue the victims.

Rose Fidelis, a resident of Abuja, expressed frustration over what she described as the government’s inability to trace the abductors despite the passage of several weeks.

“This is the 20th day that those children have been in captivity. Is the government telling us that these kidnappers carried these children from the school, loaded them into vehicles or walked them into hiding, and nobody, not even security operatives, saw them? I believe that if the authorities truly want to find them, they would,” she said.

Her comments reflect a growing sentiment among many Nigerians who believe that the country’s security agencies possess the capacity to track down the kidnappers but have failed to act decisively.

For parents, the repeated attacks on schools have heightened fears about the safety of children across the country.

Uchenna, a commercial taxi driver in the Federal Capital Territory and father of four, said he was deeply disturbed after watching a video purportedly showing some of the abducted children in captivity.

“When I saw the video of those children online, I couldn’t eat. It was so terrible seeing those little children being asked to remove their clothes and lie on the floor. What exactly do these kidnappers want?” he asked.

According to him, the worsening insecurity is forcing many parents to reconsider sending their children to school.

“Parents are now scared of taking their children to school because of insecurity. These children went to school like every other normal day but did not return home. Most of them are children of poor families who do not have much. It is heartbreaking,” he said.