Amid escalating attacks on educational institutions across northern Nigeria, key stakeholders—including security authorities, women leaders, and student bodies—are voicing growing frustration and demanding swift government action to protect schools and children.

In Kogi State, Police Commissioner Naziru Kankarofi assured on Tuesday that adequate security measures had been deployed to all examination centres ahead of the National Examinations Council (NECO) external exams scheduled to begin Wednesday. During a courtesy visit by the NECO State Coordinator, Thaddeus Ajabu, the commissioner said officers had been positioned across the state to guarantee a safe, seamless examination period.

Mr. Ajabu, who sought strengthened collaboration with the police, welcomed the proactive steps, emphasising that the high-stakes external examinations required elevated security. He expressed gratitude for the police command’s support in ensuring a safe environment for candidates.

But elsewhere in the North, reactions have been far more critical following the recent mass abductions in Niger and Kebbi states. A coalition of prominent Northern women under the Voices for Inclusion and Equity for Women (VIEW) condemned the sweeping shutdown of schools by state and federal authorities, describing it as a retreat in the face of terror rather than a strategic response.

In a statement signed by Asmau Joda, Maryam Uwais, Mairo Mandara, Aisha Oyebode, Fatima Akilu, Kadaria Ahmed, and Larai Ocheja Amusan, the group faulted the closures, warning that shutting down schools only emboldens attackers and deepens long-standing educational inequalities.

“The announcement that all schools in Niger and Kebbi States have been shut down, along with unity schools across the North, represents not security but surrender,” the group said. “Every shuttered classroom widens inequality; every child kept at home deepens fear. This is not protection; it is abandonment.”

VIEW urged the government to secure schools rather than empty them, insisting that Nigeria must break the cycle of “violence followed by retreat.” The women demanded intelligence-driven rescue operations, daily transparent updates, and a fundamental overhaul of the nation’s security architecture.

Echoing similar concerns, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) declared that Nigeria’s internal security system had failed in its duty to safeguard citizens, particularly students. In a strongly worded statement on Wednesday, NANS President Olushola Oladoja said the Safe School Initiative—launched over a decade ago—remained ineffective despite billions in funding.

“For more than 10 years, we have witnessed a cycle of grief without justice or meaningful reform,” Oladoja said, blaming poor intelligence coordination and leadership complacency for repeated attacks. He cited fears of internal sabotage in the recent Kebbi school raid, where terrorists struck minutes after alleged troop withdrawal, and called for a high-level probe into potential insider collaboration.

Oladoja warned that if the government fails to present a clear plan to secure schools and overhaul the Safe School Initiative, students nationwide may embark on mass civil disobedience, including shutting down highways and airports.

“NANS stands united and ready to defend the Nigerian student identity—by dialogue if possible, and by mass civil action if necessary,” he said.

Northern Nigeria has witnessed renewed attacks on schools in recent days, including the abduction of at least 24 students at Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, where the vice-principal was killed. Days later, hundreds were kidnapped from St. Mary’s Catholic Schools in Papiri, Niger State, though about 50 students managed to escape.

As fear deepens and calls for action grow louder, stakeholders across the region insist that closing schools is not a solution—and that Nigeria must act decisively to protect its children, restore public confidence, and preserve the future of education in the North.