Amnesty International Raises Alarm Over Rising School Abductions After Borno Attack

Amnesty International has condemned the attack on Government Day Secondary School in Lassa, Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, where suspected gunmen reportedly killed two teachers and a student, disrupted ongoing National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations and abducted an unspecified number of students.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the human rights organisation described the incident as a serious violation of children’s right to education, insisting that schools must remain safe spaces for learning.

“Schools should and must be places of safety, and no child should have to choose between their education and their life,” the organisation said.

Amnesty International warned that the abducted students face grave risks, adding that persistent attacks on schools have left many educational institutions across northern Nigeria deserted for years due to fear of violence.

The organisation said it had documented at least 13 school abductions since 2023, describing the trend as alarming and attributing it to the failure of authorities at all levels to provide adequate protection for schools.

“The protection of children’s lives is paramount, and the Nigerian government has a duty to ensure that the country’s educational sector is not further threatened by armed groups on the rampage across northern Nigeria,” the statement read.

Amnesty International said the attack on the Lassa school amounted to a gross violation of international humanitarian law and further undermined the right to education for children in the affected community and across the region.

It also warned that recurring attacks and abductions continue to limit access to education as insecurity deepens in northern Nigeria.

“What we are witnessing right now in the northern part of Nigeria is an assault on childhood and an utter failure to guarantee the safety and security of school children and teachers,” the organisation said, noting that many communities in the region have endured years of attacks by armed groups.