School Kidnapping Crisis: UNICEF Says 1,400 Nigerian Children Kidnapped, 16 Dead And 200 Still Missing

Ilustrasi pelajar in Nigeria. (Wikimedia Commons / Dolapo Falola)

JAKARTA - At least one million Nigerian children are at risk of being out of school as the new school year begins amid increasing mass school kidnappings and insecurity, the United Nations Children's Agency (UNICEF) said.

The school has been the target of mass kidnappings for ransom in northern Nigeria by armed groups. Such kidnappings in Nigeria were first carried out by the jihadist group Boko Haram, then its West African Province ISIS branch. However, now the practice has been adopted by criminal gangs.

So far, there have been 20 attacks on schools in Nigeria this year, with more than 1,400 children kidnapped and 16 dead, UNICEF said, adding that more than 200 children were still missing.

"Students are cut off from their education, as families and communities remain afraid of sending children back to their classrooms, due to a spate of school attacks and student abductions in Nigeria", said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, citing Reuters Thursday, September 16.

More than 37 million Nigerian children will start the new school year this month, says UNICEF. An estimated eight million children have had to wait more than a year for hands-on learning after schools closed due to the COVID-19 lockdown. Apart from that, insecurity has also led to the closure of schools in Nigeria.

Several northwestern states have tried to curb a spate of kidnappings, by banning the sale of fuel in jerry cans and the transport of firewood in trucks. The goal is to disrupt gangs traveling on motorbikes and camping in remote places.

Earlier, the start of the school term was postponed without explanation in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria (FCT), after schools in a nearby state were targeted by kidnappers demanding ransom.

Some parents at FCT said children who came to school hoping to restart lessons, were told the new school year would not start until September 19.

A document released by the FCT Education Secretariat, obtained by Reuters shows the new date applies to all schools, whether state-run or private, Christian, Muslim, boarding, or regular school.

It is not uncommon for public authorities to mandate a start date for private schools. Reuters has asked the ministry for the FCT for comment.