Abuse, Violence Threaten Safety of Nigerian Schools as FG, EU Launch Fresh Crackdown

By: Michael Mike

Schools across Nigeria, once regarded as safe spaces for learning and personal development, are increasingly becoming environments where children face abuse, exploitation and violence, prompting fresh intervention by the federal government and international partners to strengthen accountability and justice for survivors.

Alarmed by the growing prevalence of school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) and the challenges victims encounter in seeking justice, stakeholders from the justice, education and child protection sectors have commenced coordinated efforts aimed at improving the prosecution of offenders and strengthening institutional responses to cases involving children.

The renewed commitment was underscored on Tuesday in Abuja during the First Training of Trainers Workshop on the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the Legal Pathway for the Prosecution of Perpetrators of School-Related Gender-Based Violence.

The initiative, organised under the European Union-supported programme to end sexual and gender-based violence and implemented by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Justice, brought together officials from key government ministries, security agencies, child protection bodies and civil society organisations.

Participants warned that violence within schools is taking multiple forms, including sexual harassment, abuse, bullying, corporal punishment, exploitation and technology-facilitated violence, leaving lasting scars on victims and undermining confidence in educational institutions.

Speaking at the event, Gender-Based Violence Policy and Strategy Development Specialist for the programme, Melissa Omene, described the situation as a major threat to the nation’s education system.

She noted that available studies indicate that nearly one-fifth of reported sexual violence cases occur within school environments, while a significant number of children continue to experience corporal punishment from teachers.

According to her, beyond the statistics are thousands of children whose safety, education and future prospects have been severely affected.

Omene said survivors often endure long-term emotional, psychological and educational consequences, with girls and other vulnerable groups bearing the heaviest burden.

She stressed that strengthening legal pathways for prosecution would send a strong signal that violence against children would no longer be tolerated and that institutions are prepared to act decisively against offenders.

She explained that although Standard Operating Procedures were jointly developed in 2024 by the Federal Ministries of Justice and Education to guide reporting, referrals, investigations and prosecution, inadequate awareness and inconsistent implementation have weakened their impact.

The current training, she added, seeks to bridge those gaps by equipping participants with practical knowledge to improve case management and accountability.

Omene also revealed that the European Union-funded programme, which runs from 2025 to 2029, is focused on strengthening legal and policy frameworks, improving access to quality support services for survivors and promoting social norms that discourage gender-based violence.

She disclosed that facilities within hospitals in the Federal Capital Territory have already been identified and are being assessed for conversion into Sexual Assault Referral Centres to provide specialised support for victims.

In her remarks, Head of the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Response Unit at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Yewande Gbola-Awopetu, said the protection of children requires a united and coordinated response from all institutions.

She described the SOP as a critical tool for ensuring professionalism, accountability and consistency in handling cases of abuse within schools.

Gbola-Awopetu warned that violence in educational institutions does more than disrupt learning, noting that it erodes trust in public institutions and threatens the future of young Nigerians.

She urged participants to become agents of change within their respective organisations and work towards ensuring that no child is forced to choose between education and personal safety.

Also speaking, Assistant Director at the Federal Ministry of Education, Apakasa Augustina, disclosed that the SOP document had already been distributed to all 115 Federal Unity Colleges nationwide.

She said principals had been engaged on implementation strategies and stressed that teachers and school administrators remain central to identifying, preventing and responding to abuse.

According to her, effective efforts to tackle gender-based violence in schools cannot succeed without adequately training those who interact with children daily.

Executive Director of Protect the Child Foundation, Elizabeth Ebulejonu Achimugu, noted that many cases fail to progress beyond the reporting stage because frontline officers often lack sufficient knowledge of legal procedures and prosecution processes.

She said participants were expected to transfer the knowledge acquired during the training to colleagues within their institutions, while future phases of the programme would focus directly on teachers, caregivers and other school personnel.

Stakeholders expressed optimism that stronger collaboration among government agencies, educational institutions, civil society groups and law enforcement authorities would help close longstanding justice gaps, improve prosecution rates and restore schools as safe environments where children can learn and thrive without fear.

Abuse, Violence Threaten Safety of Nigerian Schools as FG, EU Launch Fresh Crackdown