***One student rescued— Police
***Gov Ododo mobilises security agents to rescue abductees
***It’s time to make Safe Schools Initiative work — NAPTAN
By Adesina Wahab, Omeiza Ajayi & Boluwaji Obahopo
LOKOJA— Gunmen on Tuesday attacked Government Secondary School, Olowa, in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, abducting four students, the principal and a National Examinations Council, NECO, ad-hoc staff.
The attack, which occurred at about 5:25 pm while the students were writing their NECO examination, came as three newly passed-out soldiers on their way from Zaria to Zamfara State, were also abducted by terrorists who demanded N50 million.
However, both the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, and Defence Headquarters said they were not aware of the development.
On the Kogi attack, residents said the heavily armed assailants stormed the community, firing sporadically to scare people before invading the school.
A community leader, Sunday Alkali, said residents were relaxing under trees when the gunmen suddenly appeared.
“The gunmen seemed surprised to see many people outside at that time of the day and initially retreated. They later returned, shooting indiscriminately, forcing everyone to flee for safety,” he said.
According to residents, it was only after the gunfire subsided that they discovered the school had been attacked.
“We initially did not know what the gunmen were after. After the shooting stopped, some of us went to the school and found examination papers scattered across classrooms and the school premises. There were no students or school officials in sight,” another resident said.
The victims were later identified as the school principal, Mr. Nyada Daniel; the NECO exams supervisor, Mr. Solomon Audu; and four students.
Residents noted that the number of abducted students could have been higher but for the fact that only a limited number of candidates were writing Literature in English at the time, unlike core subjects such as English Language and Mathematics, which attract larger attendance.
The kidnappers were also said to have contacted some relatives of the victims on Tuesday evening, demanding ransom for their release.
“At least four families have received calls from the abductors demanding huge sums of money for the victims’ freedom,” Alkali alleged.
Following the incident, soldiers, police officers, local vigilantes and hunters were said to have been mobilised to the area to track the abductors and rescue the victims.
“Soldiers, policemen, vigilantes and hunters are combing the surrounding forests in search of the kidnappers,” a resident, who requested anonymity, said.
One student rescued — Police
Confirming the attack yesterday, Kogi State Police Command said it had launched a rescue operation, following the abduction.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Saliu Oyiza Afusat, said the incident occurred while 10 candidates were reportedly writing the ongoing NECO examination at the abandoned school.
“Following the attack, Kogi State Commissioner of Police, CP Naziru Kankarofi deployed tactical and operational teams to the area.
‘’The police chief also visited the scene alongside the Commander of the 12 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Lokoja, Brig-Gen. Kasim Sidi, and the State Security Adviser, Commander Jerry Omodara, retd, to assess the situation and coordinate rescue efforts,’’ the command stated.
According to the police, preliminary investigations revealed that the school had previously been shut down by Kogi State Government because of its remote location and security concerns.
However, authorities said the abandoned premises were allegedly being used illegally as a “special examination centre” for the ongoing NECO examination.
The police further disclosed that allegations had emerged indicating that some individuals might have facilitated the use of the abandoned school despite its closure.
“Investigators are also probing claims that the classroom where the examination was conducted had become notorious for examination malpractice,’’ it added.
The command warned that anyone found to have played any role in the illegal operation of the examination centre or any examination malpractice would be prosecuted.
Gov Ododo mobilises security agents to rescue abductees
Also confirming the incident, Kogi State government said it had launched a multi-agency security operation to rescue those abducted in the school.
The state government disclosed this in a statement yesterday by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, saying Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo directed security agencies to intensify efforts to secure the victims’ safe release.
According to the statement, the operation is being coordinated by the State Security Adviser, Commander Jerry Omodara, retd, with the participation of security and intelligence agencies operating in the state.
The government listed victims to include Principal of Government Secondary School, Olowa, Elder Daniel Iyanaa; a NECO official, Mr. Solomon Audu; a NECO candidate, Miss Dorcas Sunday; and another female candidate identified simply as Miss Dorcas, whose surname was yet to be confirmed.
The government said five persons were initially abducted during the incident, adding that one of the victims had been rescued, while efforts had been intensified to secure release of the remaining four.
“Personnel of the 12 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Lokoja; 21 Battalion, Nigerian Army, Anyigba; the Nigeria Police Force; the Department of State Services, DSS; the Kogi State Vigilante Service; local hunters; and other security outfits had been deployed to the area. Advanced technology is also being deployed to support the rescue operation,’’ the government stated.
It further disclosed that preliminary findings indicated that the examination centre, located in a remote area, was allegedly being used as a “miracle centre” for external candidates
According to the statement, the two female candidates involved were not regular students of Government Secondary School, Olowa, while the examination arrangements did not conform with the security framework put in place by the state government for candidates participating in the ongoing NECO examinations.
The government, however, maintained that the circumstances surrounding the examination centre would not affect its responsibility to ensure the safety of all residents and visitors in the state.
It assured that every effort was being made to rescue the victims and apprehend those behind the abduction.
The government appealed to residents of Olowa and neighbouring communities to cooperate with security agencies by providing credible information that could aid the rescue efforts.
It reaffirmed its commitment to protecting lives and property, expressing confidence that the victims would be safely reunited with their families.
It’s time to make Safe Schools Initiative work – NAPTAN, NUT
Speaking on the incident yesterday, the Chairman , Board of Trustees of the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria, NAPTAN, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, advocated the implementation of the state school policy in the country.
“We know that security is an issue that concerns all of us. Community leaders and even residents should also assist in providing information to assist security agencies. Also, the Safe Schools Initiative must be made to work. It was launched in the aftermath of the Chibok girls saga in. 2014 and it has been back and forth regarding proper implementation of the policy.
“All schools should be fenced and manned by armed
persons, not just keeping a gateman to close and open the gate. The police and Civil Defence Corps have a great role to play and they must be deployed in and around our schools. School environment must be safe and conducive for teaching and learning. These repeated cases of attacks on schools must be stopped. We must not give in to terror,” he stated.
Also, the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, strongly called for full implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative.
NUT President, Titus Amba, who made the call, urged government to deploy adequate security personnel, establish modern surveillance systems, and create rapid emergency response systems in vulnerable regions.
“The initiative is critical to preventing further attacks by terrorists and bandits. There must be nationwide implementation, full enforcement and strengthening of the Safe Schools Declaration across all states to protect educational institutions from violence.
“There must be urgent deployment of adequate security personnel and modern surveillance systems to vulnerable schools, especially in high-risk areas. There must be emphasis on improved intelligence gathering and robust community-based security mechanisms. Also, there must be provision of proper psycho-social support and rehabilitation services for teachers and students who have suffered the trauma of abduction,” he noted.
The Safe Schools Initiative was conceived in the aftermath of the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction, when Boko Haram’s war on education shocked the world and exposed the vulnerability of Nigerian schools.
The federal government, working with private sector leaders and development partners, launched the scheme with N20bilion to improve school protection, establish early warning systems, perimeter fencing and emergency response.
In 2023, the federal government unveiled a N144.8 billion financing plan for the 2023–2026 period, meant to be implemented with federal, state and partner participation.
However, school abductions have not ended; they have intensified and spread from the North-East to the North-West and now to the South-West, President Bola Tinubu’s own geopolitical zone.
Insecurity around schools has become normalised, with children, teachers and parents living under constant fear. The recent foiling of a planned school abduction in Edo State by the DSS, working with vigilant citizens, shows that the threat is nationwide and that official protection remains inadequate.
Meanwhile, seven months after the Senate decided to probe how far the initiative has achieved the expected results, not much had been done.
The Senate Ad-hoc Committee, chaired by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, summoned key government officials, including the then Finance Minister, Wale Edun and Defence Minister Gen. Christopher Musa, after it was revealed that nearly N6. 2 billion of the 2023 budget was allocated solely to the Nigeria Police Force, while a large portion of previous funds was consumed by consultancy and other sundry issues.
Exam halls should be sanctuaries not crime scenes, Atiku
Reacting to the development, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, declared that an examination hall should be a sanctuary of hope, not a crime scene, condemning the abduction of the victims.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress, ADC, described the incident as further proof that the Nigerian state has abdicated its most fundamental responsibility, which is the protection of life, learning and the future of its children.
He said; “An examination hall should be a sanctuary of hope, not a crime scene. A school principal should be preparing students for the future, not negotiating with kidnappers.
‘’A NECO official should be supervising examinations, not struggling for survival in the hands of bandits. Yet this has become the grim reality under a government that has normalised insecurity.”
Atiku said the latest attack was not an isolated tragedy but part of a dangerous national pattern in which educational institutions had become preferred targets because criminals no longer feared the Nigerian state.
“It is impossible to separate this attack from the attitude this administration has displayed towards education.
‘’A government that has repeatedly made education more expensive through unprecedented increases in WAEC and NECO examination fees, neglected public schools, failed to secure learning environments and reduced education to empty campaign slogans should not be surprised that criminals now see schools as abandoned territories,” he said.
He said government policies had sent one unmistakable message, that education is no longer a national priority.
“First, they priced poor children out of classrooms. Then they fail to protect those who remain in school. This is a double assault on the future of Nigeria. One is economic exclusion; the other is violent intimidation.
‘’Together, they amount to a systematic destruction of the dreams of an entire generation,” he said.
Atiku linked the security failure to what he described as reckless federal budgeting, saying the repeated incompetence Nigerians continued to witness under the Tinubu administration was the inevitable consequence of a government that has abandoned probity, discipline and accountability in public finance.
He noted that every successful attack on a school emboldened other criminal groups, making educational institutions increasingly attractive targets because the consequences had been minimal and the response largely reactive.
“The collapse of school security is not merely a security failure; it is a collapse of governance itself. A country where children cannot safely write examinations is a country steadily surrendering its future to fear,” he said.
Atiku called for the immediate and unconditional rescue of every abducted victim and demanded a comprehensive review of security arrangements for all schools and examination centres across the federation.
Terrorists abduct 3 newly passed-out soldiers in Zamfara
Meanwhile, three newly passed-out soldiers have been ambushed and abducted by terrorists while travelling through Anka axis of Zamfara State.
A source told Vanguard that the soldiers, who had just graduated from the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, Kaduna, were travelling from Zaria to Zamfara State when their vehicle was reportedly ambushed by heavily armed terrorists, who abducted them and other passengers and the driver.
The new Army personnel were said to have been abducted in Zamfara on July 2, 2026, after they were allegedly abandoned by military authorities while travelling to their destination in Kebbi State, shortly after completing their passing-out exercise at the 26 Nigerian Army (26 NA) formation in Kaduna State.
Initially, the kidnappers reportedly demanded N50 million ransom before later reducing the ransom to N5 million for each captive.
Families of the abducted soldiers stated that despite notifying military authorities about the incident, no rescue operation or official response had been communicated to them more than 13 days after the abduction.
However, the NDA told Vanguard on phone yesterday that its management was not aware of the incident.
Similarly, the Director of of Media Operations, Defence Headquarters, Major General Michael Onoja, also said the DHQ was not aware of the abduction.
