When schools are unsafe, schoolchildren can’t be safe. Following the August 27 release of 91 students abducted by bandits from Salihu Tanko Islamiya School, Tegina, in Niger State, three months ago, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released shocking figures showing the danger schoolchildren face in the country.  Tragically, one of the abductees, six-year-old Hayatu Hashimu, died in captivity.

UNICEF representative in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins, in a statement by its Communication Specialist in Nigeria, Samuel Kaalu, highlighted the irony of the situation.  “Children who went in search of knowledge were abducted at their school, which is supposed to be a safe place for them, while exercising their fundamental right to an education,” UNICEF said.

According to the UN agency, no fewer than 1,000 schoolchildren were abducted by bandits between December 2020 and August 2021. UNICEF said an estimated 200 schoolchildren were still being held by bandits in the country.

Among them are students abducted from Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna, in Kaduna State. Bandits had invaded the school on July 5 and abducted 121 students. On July 25, 28 of them were freed after 20 days in captivity. On August 19, 15 of them were released; and on August 27, 32 of them were released. This means that 46 of them are still in captivity.

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UNICEF rightly pointed out how wrong it is for kidnappers, bandits and terrorists to target schoolchildren. “Schools should not be a target. Children should not be a target. Education is a fundamental right of every child and any attack on an educational institution is a violation of that right,” the UN agency said.

But it’s obvious that abductors have different ideas and different values. According to a study, more than $18 million was paid as ransom to kidnappers in the country from 2011 to 2020, and the greater part of the payment was from 2016 to 2020 when about $11 million was paid.

In the local currency, these are huge figures indeed. It shows that kidnapping for ransom, also described as “economic kidnapping,” is a thriving business, albeit an evil one. Sadly, it is even regarded as a “growth industry.”

Some analysts forecast that kidnap-for-ransom cases will increase in the country as a result of increased unemployment.  This is a worrying scenario, considering that Nigeria already has one of the world’s highest rates of kidnap-for-ransom cases.

The authorities need to do more to ensure schools are safe for all students, and should urgently pursue improved socio-economic conditions to discourage kidnapping for ransom. There is no room for buck-passing.