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Nigeria: 10 Years after Chibok, Schoolchildren Still at Risk – HRW

Published

2 years ago

April 12, 2024

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Nigeria: 10 Years after Chibok, Schoolchildren Still at Risk – HRW

…Urges Government To Implement Safe Schools Plan to Protect Schools, Children

By: Our Reporter

Ten years after the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Nigerian authorities have failed to put in place and sustain crucial measures to provide a secure learning environment for every child, Human Rights Watch said today.

Since 2014, according to Save the Children, more than 1,600 children have been abducted or kidnapped across northern Nigeria. In the northeast, the armed conflict between Boko Haram and Nigerian armed forces continues to take its toll and, in the northwest, criminal groups commonly called bandits are terrorizing communities. During February and March 2024 alone, bandits kidnapped over 200 children from their schools in Kaduna and Sokoto states.

“For many children across northern Nigeria, the pursuit of an education means facing the constant threat of abduction or kidnapping,” said Anietie Ewang, Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Children should never face the harrowing dilemma of sacrificing their safety for education, but this untenable choice, which echoes the profound insecurity plaguing the country, is thrust upon them daily.”

On April 14, 2014, Boko Haram, an Islamist armed group, abducted 276 girls from their school in Chibok, a town in northeastern Borno state, sparking global outrage. Although some of the girls escaped, or were released or rescued, 96 remain in captivity according to UNICEF, and civil society groups continue to pressure the government to ensure they are rescued. Boko Haram, known for its opposition to education, has carried out other such abductions, including one of 110 girls from a school in Dapchi, a town in Yobe state, in 2018.

In addition to kidnappings by Boko Haram in the northeast, the ongoing banditry crisis in the northwest has in recent years made that area a hub for criminal kidnapping for ransom. The crisis emerged after years of conflict between herders and farmers, giving rise to the criminal groups, which have carried out widespread killings, looting, extortion, and kidnapping for ransom in mostly rural communities.

Between December 2020 and February 2021, a series of high-profile incidents, including the abduction of over 600 schoolchildren across Zamfara, Katsina, and Niger states, thrust the kidnapping issue into the spotlight.

In the aftermath of Chibok, the Nigerian government endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration, an international political commitment to protect education from attack and schools from military use which turns them into targets. The government also adopted a Safe School Initiative for Nigeria with the support of the global community and Nigerian business leaders. The initiative aimed to raise funds with an initial US$10 million pledge to help make schools safer, including by moving them to safer areas and creating a safe school model for schools across Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, the three states worst hit by the Boko Haram insurgency.

However, the multi-stakeholder initiative faced problems, and there has been a decline in momentum over the years with little or no progress made in fortifying schools, Human Rights Watch said. In 2021, Nigeria’s then-Senate president Ahmad Lawan, following an investigation into the utilization of the funds for the initiative, declared that it was designed to fail without a National Policy and Strategy for the Safe School Initiative and the leadership of the Federal Education Ministry. In the meantime, communities continue to suffer the brunt of bandit attacks and schoolchildren remain vulnerable prey.

A Chibok girl who was in Boko Haram captivity for over two years, and was released with 20 others, told Human Rights Watch that news of school kidnappings brings back memories of her ordeal. “Whenever I hear that more children have been kidnapped, I feel terrible, helpless,” she said. “We are still not safe … It brings back memories of what happened to me. I can never forget being snatched from my parents, my family for so long. I pray this is not the case for those that are kidnapped.” She is now a 28-year-old university student studying natural and environmental sciences.

Kemi Okenyodo, an expert in security and governance and the executive director of the Rule of Law and Empowerment Initiative in Abuja, told Human Rights Watch that the ongoing school kidnappings, resembling those in Chibok a decade ago, highlight a failure to learn from past experiences, as they are taking place without adequate security infrastructure or intervention from authorities to prevent dozens or hundreds of children being snatched away at once.

Amid the heightened threat of attacks on schools, many have been forced to shut down completely, with more than 20 million children out of school in Nigeria, according to UNESCO, among the highest number in any country in the world. According to UNICEF, 66 percent of out-of-school children in Nigeria are from the northeast and northwest, which are among the poorest regions in the country.

For girls especially, the challenges are double edged. They risk rape and other forms of sexual violence if kidnapped, and if kept out of school, they risk child marriage, which is a common practice in these regions.

In 2021, the government adopted the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence Free Schools aimed at improving school security, strengthening the capabilities of security agents to respond to threats, and ensuring that education continues for children displaced by conflict and crisis, among other reasons.

The authorities committed to investing 144.8 billion naira (about $314.5 million at the time) over a certain period to finance this initiative. In 2023, they announced that 15 billion naira (about $24 million at the time) had been earmarked to pilot the initiative in 18 high-risk states and 48 schools. However, details of the implementation are sparse, and it remains unclear the extent to which this has been done.

Okenyodo told Human Rights Watch that the government needs to involve communities in designing and implementing initiatives to make schools safer to create a sense of ownership and reduce inefficiency and corruption.

“Now more than ever, the Nigerian authorities should step up efforts to make learning safe for children,” Ewang said. “They should work with communities to adopt rights-respecting measures and put in place adequate financing, systems, and structures to ensure quick, effective, and transparent implementation to ensure that children can learn without being exposed to grave harm.”

Nigeria: 10 Years after Chibok, Schoolchildren Still at Risk – HRW

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African Students Clinch Top Honours as KDI School Graduates New Global Policy Leaders

Published

8 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

African Students Clinch Top Honours as KDI School Graduates New Global Policy Leaders

By: Michael Mike

African students were among the standout performers as the KDI School of Public Policy and Management held its 2025 Commencement Ceremony, reinforcing the institution’s growing role in shaping a new generation of global policy leaders committed to ethical governance and sustainable development.

The award recipients included Stephen Ojegbola from Nigeria, who earned the Academic Excellence Achievement Award in Intellectual Property and Development Policy.

Speaking at the ceremony in Sejong, the Dean of KDI School, Professor Joon-Kyung Kim, congratulated the graduating class on what he described as a hard-earned achievement, while urging them to prepare for greater responsibilities ahead.

“Today is a day to take pride in how far you have come. After hardship comes happiness, but beyond one mountain lies another mountain. You are now part of our global KDI community of over 73,000 alumni across 143 countries, and wherever you go, you belong to something bigger,” Prof. Kim said.

The Dean highlighted KDI School’s global standing, noting that it was the first institution in Korea to receive the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) accreditation twice and that it has been recognised for the fifth consecutive year as an excellent institution by the Korean Ministry of Education.

He added that KDI ranked in the global 51+ tier for Social Policy and Administration in the 2025 QS World University Rankings by Subject and placed second worldwide in citations per paper.

He however stressed that the true measure of success lay beyond rankings and awards, insisting that: “More important than accolades is what you take with you—the skills to use data, the values to serve others and the commitment to improve the world around you,” describing Korea’s development experience as a roadmap to sustainable development for emerging economies.

In a keynote address, the Ambassador of Rwanda to the Republic of Korea, Bakuramutsa Nkubito Manzi, charged graduates to embrace collaboration in addressing complex global challenges.

He said: “The era of isolated policy-making is over. Climate change, global health security and rising inequality demand cooperation, empathy and intellectual humility. Your success in public service will not be measured by profit, but by impact.”

He added that KDI training had equipped graduates with the ability to analyse policy through the lens of public good and ethical governance, urging them to become “solution makers, not just problem identifiers,” inspired by Korea’s transformation known as the Miracle on the Han River.

Several other African students received academic awards for exceptional performance at the ceremony. Alinafe Yoyola of Malawi (Master of Development Policy), Alieu Ceesay of The Gambia (Master of Data Science for Public Policy and Management) and Mustapha Colley of The Gambia (Master of Public Policy) won the Academic Excellence Achievement Award, while Pamela Mwale of Malawi, a Master of Public Policy graduate, earned a place on the Dean’s List.

Also, Nander Esmeralda Ndam (Master in Intellectual Property and Development Policy) from Nigeria and Samson Garama Dadu (Master of Public Policy) from Kenya received awards for Student Community Service.

Reflecting on his experience, Ojegbola said he chose KDI School for its unique partnership with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

He said: “This programme links intellectual property directly to development policy. Everything here is intentionally designed to bring the best out of students, and the experience challenged me to grow beyond my expectations.”

Another graduate, Muyama Christine from Uganda, described her journey as demanding but transformative. “Policy works not when it assumes self-sufficiency, but when it recognises interdependence,” she said, adding that her time at KDI had shown her the power of community and shared purpose.

African Students Clinch Top Honours as KDI School Graduates New Global Policy Leaders

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Fleeing bandits’ drug supplier ‘Gamboli’ arrested in Niger

Published

8 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Fleeing bandits’ drug supplier ‘Gamboli’ arrested in Niger

. As NDLEA Mother and Child over 1,187 kilogrammes skunk seizure in Ondo

By: Michael Mike

Three weeks after escaping arrest at his home in Anguwan Makera, Kuta, Shiroro local government area of Niger state, a notorious supplier of illicit drugs to bandits operating in the area, 33-year-old Mohammed Sani (alias Gamboli) has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at his hideout.

Spokesman of anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, in a press statement on Sunday said the arrest of Gamboli followed credible intelligence about his illicit drug activities. He said NDLEA operatives had on 20th November 2025 raided his house at Anguwan Makera, Kuta, where they recovered 471.8 kilogrammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis. Though he escaped arrest during the raid and has since been in hiding, the manhunt for him eventually paid off last Thursday when NDLEA officers acting on processed intelligence traced and arrested him at one of his drug joints in Anguwan Fadama, Kuta.

Babafemi said intelligence reports had indicated that Gamboli is a major supplier of illicit drugs to bandits operating in Shiroro local government area.

The spokesman said NDLEA officers in Abia last Thursday raided a clandestine codeine syrup-manufacturing factory at Amapu Igbengwo village, Umuakpara, in Osisioma local government area of the state. During the operation, operatives recovered a total of 9,015 bottles of codeine syrup weighing 1,152.2 kilogrammes.

In Enugu state, operatives last Thursday arrested Ossai Emeka, 45, along Onitsha – Enugu Ezike road with 7.2 kilogrammes skunk, while Enoje Agada, 40, was nabbed along Enugu-Ezike -Ette road with 94.6 kilogrammes of same psychoactive substance.

A raid carried out by NDLEA operatives at a notorious drug joint known as “Beere the California” at Ido in Oyo state last Thursday led to the seizure of 3.4 kilogrammes skunk, 1.6 kilogrammes Colorado, a synthetic cannabis and 400 grammes of methamphetamine. Babafemi said the owner of the drug joint identified as “Idowu the killer” is currently at large while a suspect Ajibade Faruk was nabbed at the joint.

Another operation at Idi Oro, Elekuro, Ibadan last Friday led to the arrest of Olusanya Abosede, 35, and the seizure of 238.4 kilogrammes skunk, while the duo of Bashiru Babalola, 43, and Ogunwale Ranti, 50, were arrested last Wednesday at Gbaji checkpoint, Seme road Badagry, Lagos with 50,000 pills of tramadol 250mg,

NDLEA operatives in Ogun state arrested two suspects: Akinwale Makanjuola and Joseph Owolabi with 73 kilogrammes skunk at Iperu just as another suspect Wasiu Lateef was nabbed with 25 kilogrammes of same substance at Oke Agbede, Imeko area of the state last Tuesday. In Ondo state, NDLEA officers acting on credible intelligence last Monday raided a compound in Ogbese, Akure North local government area, where they arrested a 55-year-old woman Veronica Obi and her 29-year-old son Bright Obi, and recovered 1,187 kilogrammes of skunk and its seeds from them.

A suspect Ohiomah Igbafe, 44, was arrested during a raid operation at Uroe community, Owan East local government area of Edo state, where 461 kilogrammes skunk and its seeds were recovered last Tuesday.

In Gombe state, a suspect Muhammed Sani (alias Sha-Mu-Sha), 50, was arrested with 40,000 capsules of tramadol at Tunfure area, Gombe, while two other suspects: Muhammad Abdullahi (a.k.a Sakalala), 52, and Muhammed Hamza (a.k.a Mamman), 32, were nabbed at Ashaka Jalingo, with 56 kilogrammes skunk last Monday.

Babafemi said no fewer than 907 pills of tramadol, tapentadol, cocodamol, amitriptyline and bromazepam concealed in containers of local black soap, and designer wears, in six different consignments going to the US, Canada and Sweden were intercepted and seized by NDLEA operatives at two major courier companies in Lagos between Tuesday and Wednesday, last week.

At the Apapa seaport in Lagos, NDLEA officers on Saturday intercepted a consignment of 170,000 bottles of codeine syrup weighing 23,579 kilogrammes during a joint examination of a container with men of Customs Service and other security agencies.

He said in like manner, commands and formations of the agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.

Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), while commending the officers and men of DOGI, Niger, Abia, Oyo, Enugu, Seme, Ogun, Ondo, Gombe, Apapa and Edo commands for the arrests, seizures and their dexterity, enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the agency.

Fleeing bandits’ drug supplier ‘Gamboli’ arrested in Niger

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NUJ Calls for Collaboration to Realize Affordable House for Journalists

Published

8 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

NUJ Calls for Collaboration to Realize Affordable House for Journalists

By: Michael Mike

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Congress
has renewed its call for stronger collaboration with government and housing finance institutions to improve access to decent housing for journalists, as stakeholders gathered for the 2025 Housing Industry End-of-Year Dinner and the 17th Africa Housing Awards in Abuja.

Speaking at the event, the NUJ FCT Chairman, Grace Ike praised the organisers for sustaining a platform that brings together policy makers, financiers, housing professionals and the media to address Nigeria’s housing challenges.

Ike, while giving special commendation to the Chief Executive Officer of Housing TV Show, Barrister Festus Adebayo, for his consistent advocacy for affordable housing and his support for journalism through media-focused housing conversations, asked for collaborations to get affordable houses for journalists practicing in Abuja

Ike, who acknowledged the presence of key government officials, including the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Housing from Namibia, and the Managing Director of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria at the award ceremony, described the gathering as a rare convergence of decision-makers capable of translating policy into impact.

She noted that platforms such as Housing TV Show have amplified journalists’ voices on housing issues, while also helping to shape public understanding of affordable housing policies. She described journalists as partners in national development whose work helps strengthen transparency, accountability and social stability.

During the event, NUJ FCT Chairman announced the rebranding of the Union’s internal projects aimed at expanding housing advocacy, media empowerment and strategic partnerships. According to her, the rebranding is designed to position journalists for greater participation in housing initiatives and to attract collaboration from government agencies, financial institutions and private developers.

A major highlight of the address was a renewed appeal to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development to fulfil the promise of a Journalists’ Village, a proposed housing scheme aimed at providing journalists in the FCT with stable and affordable homes.

She said the project would not only improve journalists’ welfare but also strengthen ethical reporting and peace-building by giving media professionals greater personal security.

She expressed optimism that with the support of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, the proposed housing project could become a reality by 2026.

She appealed to journalists to unite behind the initiative and work closely with policy makers and financiers to turn commitments into completed housing units.

The evening ended on a note of optimism, with speakers stressing that collaboration between government, the private sector and the media remains critical to addressing Nigeria’s housing needs and building a more inclusive future.

NUJ Calls for Collaboration to Realize Affordable House for Journalists