The Bring Back Our Girls ( BBOG) movement on Monday, charged President Bola Tinubu to put an end to the mass abduction of school pupils, students and teachers in schools across Nigeria, saying it is now eleven years since the nightmare began with the abduction of 276 school girls from Chibok, Borno State.
The demand came on the heels of the abduction of 303 students and 12 teachers from St Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools, Papiri, Agwarra Local Government Area, Nigeria State. About a week before then, 25 school girls and one watchman were also abducted from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School ( GGCSS), Maga, Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area, State.
In an open letter addressed to President Bola Tinubu, the BBOG said the resurgence of terrorist attacks on schools and abduction of students and teachers underscores a “terrifying trend of lawlessness and vulnerability” of schools across Nigeria.
According to the movement, these atrocities are not isolated tragedies but part of a systemic failure spanning over eleven years. The group disclosed that since the abduction of 276 girls in April 2014, Nigeria has witnessed the kidnap of at least 1,800 students from various schools in the country.
“These numbers signify the horror these young girls have endured while the government carries on as if nothing has happened. These numbers are not statistics- they represent children robbed of their futures, families shattered and communities living in perpetual fear.
“Many Chibok girls remain in captivity, forced into marriages with their abductors, subjected to sexual violence and denied basic human dignity. Survivors who returned face stigma and trauma without adequate rehabilitation. Chibok and other targeted communities remain scared and vulnerable. This is unacceptable,” the letter read.
The BBOG lamented that despite the huge funds allocated to the Safe School Initiative since 2014, the implementation of the programme has taken. According to the group, at the moment 80 per cent of schools remain unsafe while only about 37 per cent have early warning systems. It charged the Federal Government to reactivatebthe Safe School Initiative and ensure the security of all schools and across Nigeria.
“We demand urgent , decisive action – not just reactive measures, but a comprehensive strategy to secure our schools, dismantle these criminal networks and restore Faith in the government’s ability to protect it’s citizens. Every day of delay deepens the wound and erodes the trust of Nigerians in their leadership,” the movement said.
It urged the government and the security agencies to step up their efforts to rescue all the abducted school pupils and their teachers as well as all others who are still in captivity. The BBOG also urged the government at various levels to stop negotiating with the terrorists as negotiating with criminals only emboldens them.
