The Endless Tragedy of Missing Schoolgirls in Nigeria
By Hafsat Ibrahim,
The duty of a government to its citizens includes providing security and protecting rights, lives, and property from threats—whether domestic or foreign.
Yet, too many Nigerians can no longer sleep with both eyes closed. Kidnapping and banditry now rise like smoke in every direction, and the entire security architecture of this country feels painfully broken. Nigeria is in desperate need of help.
The protection of lives and property is being handled in a lackadaisical manner by those mandated to keep us safe. And so the questions echo: is it better to appease terrorists or confront them? How did we reach this frightening point as a nation? What is the way out?
Under former President Jonathan, 276 Chibok girls vanished into thin air. Under former President Buhari, 113 Dapchi girls, 300 Kankara boys, 279 Jangebe girls, 27 Kagara boys, and 30 Greenfield students were abducted. And yet again, under President Tinubu, 280 Kuriga students and 25 Kebbi girls are missing. How exhausting. How devastating. When will enough truly be enough in Nigeria?
I remember clearly when the Chibok girls were taken in 2014. Soldiers were deployed to guard my school because the abduction happened during our WAEC exams. We wrote those papers in fear. Our parents lived through a torment no child should witness.
Eleven years later, nothing has changed. If anything, the situation has worsened. How did we plant a seed of insecurity so deep that it now feels impossible to uproot? We have become numb to tragedy because it has grown into our reality.
This is heartbreaking. How many more Nigerian girls must disappear before our leaders finally wake up?
Recently, twenty-five schoolgirls were kidnapped in Kebbi State. Once again, Nigeria is confronted with a tragedy that should never be ordinary. Yet here we are—issuing statements, expressing outrage, and mourning interrupted futures, while those responsible for protecting us recycle the same hollow vocabularies. This is not just a security failure; it is a national moral failure.
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Kebbi is not an isolated case. It is another brutal stitch in a fabric of violence that keeps tightening around young Nigerian girls. These abductions have created a climate of fear around one of the most basic rights: the right to go to school and return home safely. Each time girls are taken, we hear promises of “swift action,” “coordinated response,” and “ongoing operations.” What we do not see is accountability. What we do not see is political will equal to the magnitude of this crisis.
We must stop pretending this is normal. If leaders can mobilize entire state machinery for politics, they can protect school children. If they can deploy security for political gatherings, they can secure classrooms. Enough with excuses.
As a nation, we must admit the truth: we have failed these girls. And unless we confront that failure honestly, we will keep failing them.
Our girls deserve more than sympathy. They deserve action—decisive, transparent, and sustained. They deserve schools that are truly safe. They deserve a government that prioritizes their lives over political interests. They deserve communities where education is not a dangerous gamble. And they deserve a Nigeria where simply being a girl is not a risk.
This moment demands more than perfunctory condemnation. It demands that all levels of government treat kidnapping, terrorism, and insurgency as a national emergency. It demands that security agencies be held to measurable standards, not vague statements. It demands that governors, legislators, and federal actors move beyond rhetoric.
Because without accountability, there can be no deterrence. And without deterrence, we will gather again to mourn another set of abducted girls.
Enough is enough.
If twenty-five girls can be kidnapped and our loudest response is a press release, then we have surrendered our humanity. If we cannot protect school children, then what is the value of our nationhood?
These girls must be rescued. Their abductors must be pursued relentlessly. Their schools must be secured. And Nigeria must finally decide that the education and safety of girls is non-negotiable.
If we fail them today, history will never forgive us for having the power to act and choosing not to.
Our leaders must reorder their priorities and rebuild this failing security structure. They must give hope to the hopeless, voice to the voiceless, and safety to those who simply want to live.
The bitter truth remains: Nigeria’s security system is broken. From Boko Haram in the North-East to banditry in the North-West, farmer–herder clashes in the North-Central, and kidnappings nationwide, our armed forces and police have not risen to the occasion. And under the 1999 Constitution, security rests squarely with the Federal Government.
These kidnappings are not just tragic—they are barbaric, inhuman, and a direct threat to Nigeria’s unity and survival. Where justice is denied, peace will forever remain a fantasy.
The tears of the parents are real. The trauma is deep. And our response must match that depth—because every soul matters.
