The Federal Government has ordered the temporary closure of 47 Unity Colleges across Nigeria following fresh security threats in multiple states.
This decision follows recent attacks on schools in Kebbi and Niger where students and staff were seized and at least one official lost his life. A circular dispatched to principals on Friday and signed by Hajia Binta Abdulkadir, who heads Senior Secondary Education in the Ministry of Education, confirmed that Minister Dr Tunji Alausa authorised the shutdown because of escalating risks in several regions.
The circular stated that the step was necessary to forestall further breaches and safeguard school communities. The affected colleges are spread across locations such as Zaria, Daura, Sokoto, Potiskum, Ikare Akoko and Abaji.
The directive arrives at a moment of rising assaults on educational facilities nationwide. In Kebbi, armed men recently stormed the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga during the early morning hours, abducted twenty five students and killed the vice principal, Malam Hassan Makaku, who tried to defend them.
Data compiled for the period between 2014 and 2022 shows that more than one thousand six hundred and eighty children were taken from schools across Nigeria, highlighting the long running threat confronting the education sector.
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