School abductions: Cleen Foundation demands national emergency

By Editor

The CLEEN Foundation has said that the abduction of Kebbi Schoolgirls is a direct attack on education in Northern Nigeria and the country s whole, thus the need for national emergency on the Safe Schools Initiative.

Executive Director of the CLEEN Foundation, Mr Peter Maduoma who condemned the abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi State, said the development is another distressing reminder of the fragility of school safety across Northern Nigeria.

“This brazen assault on innocent children is not only an attack on their right to education but a direct strike at the heart of national stability, development, and collective security. This tragic incident adds to the pattern of escalating attacks on schools, further undermining community confidence and jeopardizing the future of millions of children, especially girls, in the region.

“The continued targeting of educational institutions is unacceptable and represents a national emergency that requires urgent, coordinated, and depoliticized action,” Maduoma said.

He said that at a time when Nigeria should be consolidating investments in education and strengthening protection systems, silence, complacency, or political point-scoring cannot be tolerated as the safety of children must transcend politics.

He said, “CLEEN Foundation recalls the Federal Government’s launch of the Safe Schools Initiative, a crucial framework designed precisely to prevent such tragedies. The sad event is a clear indicator that the current measures are insufficient.”

He urged the Federal and Kebbi State Governments to activate all mechanisms for immediate anf unconditional rescue of the abducted school children.

Also is to prioritize and deploy all necessary security and intelligence assets to ensure the swift and safe return of the abducted girls as every moment is critical.

He also called for the reinvigoration of the safe school initiative and the conduct of an immediate audit of the security provisions in schools across the country, beginning with the most vulnerable states.

Maduoma said, “This must be followed by the tangible deployment of resources -including fortified infrastructure, trained security personnel, and technology- as envisioned by the initiative; Enhance community-security collaboration through strengthening early warning systems by fostering greater trust and collaboration between host communities and security agencies to improve intelligence gathering and rapid response.”