The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has described the abduction of 315 persons 303 students and 12 teachers, from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State as a national tragedy that requires immediate and forceful action.
NBA President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, and General Secretary, Dr. Mobolaji Ojibara, in a joint statement, decried the scale and audacity of the attack, noting that it again exposes the nation’s recurring failure to protect its most vulnerable citizens.
The association said the incident reinforces fears it previously raised about a disturbing escalation in coordinated violence targeting schools across the country.
According to the association, the latest attack, coming just days after the kidnapping of students in Kebbi State, follows earlier NBA warnings that Nigeria was witnessing a dangerous pattern of mass abductions and targeted killings.
It noted that the fact that hundreds of children and educators could be seized and transported in broad daylight without swift interception represents a devastating indictment of the country’s security architecture.
“The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is once again compelled to speak, this time in grief and profound outrage, over the shocking abduction of 315 persons, 303 students and 12 teachers, from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State.
“The sheer scale of this assault and the brazenness with which it was carried out mark yet another grim reminder of our nation’s continuing inability to protect its most vulnerable citizens.
“This horrifying incident comes barely days after the attack on a secondary school in Kebbi State, which the NBA condemned unequivocally. In our statement of November 18, 2025, titled “Enough of This Carnage: The Time to End Mass Abductions and Targeted Killings Is Now,” we warned about a disturbing pattern of coordinated violence unfolding across the country. The Niger attack tragically confirms those fears.
“That hundreds of children and teachers could be seized in broad daylight and moved without immediate interception is an indictment of our national security framework.
Once again, families are shattered, communities are traumatised, and our collective confidence in the ability of the State to protect life is gravely shaken,” the statement read.
The NBA aligned with the United Nations in calling for the full implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration, stressing that Nigeria’s commitment must translate into concrete, measurable action rather than repeated expressions of concern.
It issued a set of urgent demands, including immediate rescue operations with transparent updates; mandatory perimeter security and armed protection for schools in high-risk areas; accelerated rollout of the Safe Schools Initiative; prosecution of all actors involved in the attacks; and a nationwide audit of school security systems.
Warning that Nigeria is approaching a dangerous tipping point, the association said the country is becoming increasingly unsafe for learning and everyday life.
The NBA insisted that in moments such as this, silence or slow response amounts to complicity, and urged the government to act decisively to safeguard the nation’s future.
“In light of this escalating national emergency, the NBA reiterates and strengthens its demands as follows:
Immediate and coordinated rescue operations to secure the safe return of all abducted students and teachers, with transparent, timely public briefings.
“Mandatory perimeter security, surveillance, and armed protection for schools in vulnerable and high-risk areas nationwide.
“Full and accelerated implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative, including infrastructural fortification, early-warning mechanisms, trauma-response systems, and real-time intelligence coordination.
“Urgent investigation and prosecution of all perpetrators, collaborators, financiers, arms suppliers, and intelligence enablers supporting these terrorist networks.
“A nationwide audit of school security protocols, culminating in enforceable safety benchmarks applicable across the 36 States and the FCT.
“Strengthening of integrated early-warning and rapid-response systems, including school-specific emergency units jointly managed by federal and state security agencies,” it said.
