Save the Children Condemns Abduction of 25 Schoolgirls in Kebbi State, Calls for Urgent Government Action to Secure their release and protect schools

Abuja, Nigeria, 19 November 2025 – Save the Children strongly condemns the horrific abduction of 25 female students from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State. Reports suggest that the armed assailants stormed the school in the early hours of Monday, 17 November 2025, killing a school official and injuring another before abducting the girls to an unknown location.

The attack in Kebbi state, Northwest Nigeria, underscores the security crisis plaguing the northern region. This is another painful reminder of the persistent threats to education in Nigeria, especially in the northwest, where children, especially girls, continue to face violence and insecurity. Every child has the right to learn in safety, free from fear of abduction, kidnapping or any form of harm. These repeated assaults on schools undermine education, traumatize children and their communities, and jeopardize the future of Nigeria.

“The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Nigeria’s Child Rights Act recognize education as a fundamental right. We all have a collective responsibility to ensure that children, regardless of their circumstances, can fulfill this right.” Duncan Harvey, Country Director, Save the Children, Nigeria -

We call on the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Kebbi State Government to:

1. Act swiftly and decisively to ensure the safe return of the abducted girls and hold perpetrators accountable.

2. Scale up security measures around schools in high-risk areas, including the implementation of early warning systems, community-based protection, and rapid response mechanisms.

3. Strengthen the implementation of the National Policy on Safety, Security, and Violence-Free Schools and the Minimum Standards for Safe Schools, ensuring that every school is a protected space for learning.

4. Invest in long-term solutions that address root causes of insecurity, including poverty, youth unemployment, and weak governance structures.

The urgency to act now cannot be overstated. [i]According to Save the Children’s report Education Under Attack in Nigeria, between February 2014 and December 2022, at least 70 attacks on schools were recorded across Nigeria, with Northwest Nigeria having 49 recorded incidents. These resulted in the abduction of 1,683 learners, the killing of 184 learners, and the destruction of 25 school buildings. While incidents had declined in recent years, this latest tragedy is the first major school abduction since March 2024, when more than 200 pupils were taken from Kuriga, Kaduna State[ii].

Education is not a privilege; it is a fundamental right. The time to act is now, and decisive measures must be taken. Government, communities, and partners must unite to make every school a safe and protected place for learning. No child should pay for education with their life.

ENDS