The Kaduna State branch of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has voiced deep concern over the continuous abduction of learners and instructors, demanding that the federal government treat this crisis as a matter of national urgency. Speaking at a solidarity rally in Kaduna on Tuesday, Comrade Sunday Garba, the union’s state treasurer, emphasized that the protest was born from the anguish of incessant attacks on educational institutions nationwide. He stressed that they had not chosen to gather but were compelled by the fact that children—the future of Nigeria—remain in captivity.
Garba lamented that educators, entrusted with molding the nation’s future, have been rendered voiceless. He noted that the rally was sparked by a recent kidnapping in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, but also served as a broader condemnation of an ongoing wave of school abductions. The union cataloged a grim timeline of such incidents, starting with the April 2014 abduction of 276 female students from Chibok, Borno State, of whom over 90 are still unaccounted for. In February 2018, 110 schoolgirls were taken from Dapchi, Yobe State, with five fatalities.
The statement further recalled that in December 2020, more than 300 boys were seized from Kankara, Katsina State, though later freed. In February 2021, 27 students were kidnapped from Kagara, Niger State, resulting in one death. That same month, 317 girls were abducted from Jangebe, Zamfara State, all later released. Between March and April 2021, 39 students were taken from Afaka in Kaduna State, while roughly 20 students from Greenfield University were abducted, five of whom were killed by bandits. In July 2021, over 100 students from Bethel Baptist High School in Chikun Local Government Area were kidnapped and freed in stages. March 2024 saw the abduction of 287 students from Kuriga, Kaduna State.
Garba also referenced the November 2025 abduction of 25 girls in Maga, Kebbi State, where the vice principal was killed, and the kidnapping of more than 300 students and teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State. In May 2026, 26 children were taken from an orphanage/school in Kogi State, alongside multiple abductions in three schools in Oriire, Oyo State. He argued that every abduction steals a portion of freedom from every schoolchild, and every teacher lives in fear when a colleague falls, as schools have become primary targets. The union has called for the immediate release of all captives and insists that the government must treat this escalating crisis as a national emergency.