Abductions: Schools should be places of safety but education under attack in Northern Nigeria, says Amnesty International

*Amnesty International says accountability for human rights violations remains elusive in the country as it urges the Nigerian authorities to take all measures to return abducted school children to safety, along with all children currently under the custody of armed groups

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

For blatantly undermining the right to education for thousands of school children via seemingly unending school abductions in the country in recent years, Amnesty International (AI), again, has condemned the series of repeated attacks on schools and colleges as well as abductions of students in the Northern part of Nigeria.

The human rights group bemoaned that attacks on schools and abductions of girls are war crimes, and they undermine the right to education.

ConsumerConnect reports the AI’s reaction came following the report that 317 schoolgirls were abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, in Zamfara State in Talata-Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State, in the early hours of Friday, February 26, 2021.

Amnesty International in a series of tweets via its verified Twitter account, said: “The abduction of girls at Government Secondary School, Jangebe (in Zamfara State) is a serious violation of international humanitarian law, and it undermines the right to education for thousands of children in northern Nigeria.

Young Nigerian learners

“The girls abducted are in serious risk of being harmed. Nigerian authorities must take all measures to return them to safety, along with all children currently under the custody of armed groups.

The rights organisation stated that “education is under attack in Northern Nigeria. Schools should be places of safety, and no child should have to choose between their education and their life.

“Other children have had to abandon their education after being displaced by frequent violent attacks on their communities.”

The mass abduction of school children which happened in the early hours of Friday was carried out by gunmen who stormed the school in Hilux vehicles and motorcycles, report stated.

This latest attack occurred barely two weeks after gunmen kidnapped dozens of students and workers of the Government Science College, in Kagara, Rafi Local Government of Niger State, who are yet to be released by their captors.

Likewise, it is noted that over 300 students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, in Katsina State, were abducted by bandits December 11, 2020, until the kidnappers released them.