By Stephen — Dalena Reporters
November 26, 2025
Abuja — As Nigeria reels from a recent wave of mass kidnappings targeting schoolchildren and teachers, Amnesty International has raised the alarm that the country is in danger of “losing a generation.” The rights group’s warning follows the closure of more than 20,468 schools across seven states in response to the growing insecurity.
In its statement, Amnesty International pointed to repeated failures by authorities to prevent abductions — such as the November 17 seizure of 25 schoolgirls from a secondary school in Maga, Kebbi State, and the November 21 abduction of 303 pupils and 12 teachers from a Catholic school in Papiri, Niger State — as clear indicators that children’s right to education is now under grave threat.
The organisation’s Nigeria director, Isa Sanusi, condemned what he described as “an assault on childhood.” He said the government’s persistent inability to guarantee the safety of students and educators represents a "gross failure" to meet constitutional and international human-rights obligations.
Amnesty noted that since 2014 — when the infamous abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping shocked the world — at least 15 similar mass kidnappings have been documented. Yet despite the scale of the crisis, many victims remain missing, investigations are rarely completed, and justice remains elusive.
The consequences, the group warned, extend far beyond immediate trauma: millions of children — especially in northern and rural areas — may now see their schooling permanently disrupted, with some forced into early marriages or labour, and others losing hope of ever returning to class.
Amnesty has urged the government to: immediately and transparently investigate all abduction incidents; bring perpetrators to justice; provide psychosocial and educational support for victims; and strengthen security and early-warning systems for schools — fulfilling Nigeria’s obligations under international human-rights treaties.
As affected states scale up school closures and parents—already traumatised—struggle to protect their children, the warning that a whole generation might be lost looms ominously. Dalena Reporters will continue to monitor government responses and track efforts to salvage Nigeria’s fragile educational future.