On April 30, 2014, our team at Global Rights stood in the rain for several hours with thousands of Nigerians to protest at the National Assembly in Abuja to demand the return of 276 teenage female students who had been kidnapped from Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, in Nigeria on April 15, 2014. At that point, 57 of the girls had managed to escape by jumping out of the vehicles they had been abducted in, but the government had shown little interest in actively recovering the other girls. The protest at the National Assembly was the climax of a snowball of protests across the country to register the displeasure of Nigerians at their government’s mismanagement of their security and to demand action and accountability, starting with the return of the Chibok girls.
The legislators’ cold reception to thousands of citizens, including the former minister of education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, and other prominent Nigerians standing in the rain on that day, infuriated Nigerians even more. It was on that painful rainy day that the #BringBackOurGirls movement was birthed as a sustained campaign to ensure the safe return of the girls. The movement grew and became a global rallying cry for the Nigerian government to address the nation’s growing insecurity.
Children bear the consequences of two things: what we do and what we fail to do. – Mike Pistorino
The nightmare of the mass kidnapping of students from schools seemed novel at the time. Stories, however, slowly emerged about the systematic pillages and the abductions of women and girls by terror groups from their homes and communities in the region. The nation at that point was still reeling from the shocking news of 59 boys massacred by terrorists at the Federal Government College Buni Yadi in February 2014, barely 2 months before the Chibok girls’ incident.
Despite years of protests by citizens demanding accountability for the then-emerging insurgency in the region, sadly, not much has changed. Ten years later, 91 of the 276 Chibok girls are still unaccounted for. We are left to presume that they are either still in captivity or dead.
Since then, Nigeria has gone through several iterations of insecurity as the phenomenon has metastasized. Since the mass kidnapping of the Chibok girls, there have been at least 27 episodes of mass kidnappings of students from their schools across the country, with well over 1,863 students abducted in these incidents. This phenomenon is contextualized within the larger landscape of mass atrocities spread across the country.
Data by Nigeria Mourns informs us that in 2023, for instance, at least 372 people were reported to have been kidnapped. The kidnapping of the Chibok students continues to be emblematic of the disturbing pattern of insecurity and impunity that has plagued Nigeria for far too long. The government’s inability to ensure the safety of its most vulnerable citizens reflects a broader problem of lack of accountability and transparency in governance.
In response to the abduction of the Chibok girls, in May 2014, the Nigerian Government, along with the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown and Nigerian business leaders, launched the Safe Schools Initiative, which established the Safe Schools Fund with contributions totaling $20 million from both the government and the private sector. However, formal ratification of the Safe Schools Declaration by former President Muhammadu Buhari did not occur until December 2019, coinciding with the unveiling of a ₦144.8 billion Safe Schools Financing Plan in December 2022.
Despite the volume of funds invested in the project, schools in several communities across Northern Nigeria have been abandoned for fear of being targeted by terror groups, in addition to the over 1,800 students abducted between that time and now. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) schools vulnerability assessment conducted in 2021 in 81,000 schools revealed that 80 percent of schools across the country were porous. Presently, the National Safe School Response Coordination Centre (NSSRCC) reports that only 528 schools nationwide were registered with the centre reflecting the abysmally poor implementation of the initiative. Worse still, Nigeria continues to rank highest for the number of unschooled children in the world, which is currently estimated to be 15 million.
On this occasion of the 10th anniversary of the abduction of the Chibok girls, we invite you to observe alongside us through a symbolic social media action or by congregating in a solemn assembly with others to commemorate the incident and to demand the following:
- Accountability for the remaining 91 Chibok girls and other students across the country held in captivity by terrorist groups by dedicating resources and efforts to locate and rescue them.
- Accountability and justice for victims of the Federal Government College Buni Yadi massacre of February 2014.
- Victim support: Comprehensive support and assistance to victims of abduction and their families. This support should include psychological support, access to healthcare, and educational opportunities.
- Investment in education: The Nigerian government has continued to fail in its duty to provide free and secure education for all citizens. There is no excuse why 15 million children are out of school. It had sufficient funding for the Safe Schools Initiative; what it lacks is the political will to do so. It must account for this fund and its failure to invest in the nation’s greatest assets for the future – its children.
As we mark the 10th anniversary of the Chibok girls, it is pertinent that we collectively renew our commitment to ensuring that every child, regardless of their circumstances, has the opportunity to fulfill his or her right to education in a safe and nurturing environment.
Signed:
Abiodun Baiyewu
Executive Director
