Northern women condemn school closures, say Nigeria sliding into terror

By Lukman Olabiyi

A coalition of prominent women leaders from Northern Nigeria has sharply condemned the widespread shutdown of schools across Niger, Kebbi, and several other northern states following recent mass abductions, warning that the government’s response reflects “panic, not protection”.

In a strongly worded statement issued on Tuesday, the Voices for Inclusion and Equity for Women (VIEW) said it was “horrified” by what it described as a deteriorating security crisis that has escalated beyond ordinary banditry.

The statement was signed by notable Northern advocates, including Asmau Joda, Maryam Uwais, Mairo Mandara, Aisha Oyebode, Fatima Akilu, Kadaria Ahmed, and Larai Ocheja Amusan.

The group recalled that it had only days earlier urged authorities to act urgently following the abduction of schoolgirls at Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, and the kidnapping of more than 300 students and teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State.

VIEW said it was alarmed that instead of reinforcing security around learning institutions, authorities responded by shutting more schools.

“Instead of responding with strategy, urgency, and courage, we are witnessing decisions that reflect panic rather than protection,” the statement said.

The coalition criticised the blanket closure of all schools in Niger and Kebbi states, as well as unity schools across the North, describing the move as “not security but surrender”.

VIEW warned that the shutdowns would further deepen educational inequality for girls in the North, which already bears the country’s highest rates of female illiteracy.
It noted that cultural and economic barriers already restrict girls’ access to education and that shutting schools “stifles their right to learn even further”.

“Every shuttered classroom widens inequality; every child kept at home deepens fear. This is not protection; it is abandonment,” the group stated.

The women leaders cautioned that school closures effectively hand “psychological and moral victory” to violent groups and risk reinforcing efforts, whether deliberate or the result of neglect, to keep northern girls uneducated and vulnerable.

They called for a more decisive national response, including intelligence-led rescue missions, transparent daily briefings, and a comprehensive overhaul of the country’s security architecture.

“Nigeria cannot continue this cycle of violence followed by retreat. Schools must be protected, not emptied,” VIEW said.

The statement urged the government to deploy the full force of the State’s protection to safeguard schools, citing a grim history of attacks from Chibok and Dapchi to Yauri and Jangebe.

“Nigeria is once again failing its daughters and sons. The children of Maga and Papiri must be rescued, northern schools must be protected, and the future of our region must not be surrendered to fear,” it said.

VIEW described itself as a coalition operating across the North Central, Northeast, and Northwest regions, working to advance equitable and just societies for women.