OYO, BORNO SCHOOL ABDUCTIONS: Teachers Protest Nationwide As CAN Seeks State Of Emergency On Insecurity

I NUT threatens national strike amid protests in Kano, Lagos, Jos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, others

BY IGHO OYOYO, JAMES KWEN HENRY TYOHEMBA, SAMSON ELIJAH, FRANCIS OKOYE, ; FEMI OYEWESO, Abeokuta; ANGELA NKWO-AKPOLU, GEORGE OKOJIE; ADEBAYO WAHEED, JOSHUA DADA, NNAMDI MBAWIKE, LONGTONG YAKUBU, ACHOR ABIMAJE, PATRICK OCHOGA, IBRAHIM OBANSA, RICHARD NDOMA, and ATTAH ANTHONY

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has threatened to embark on a nationwide strike if urgent action is not taken to secure the release of teachers and students abducted from schools in Oyo and Borno states.

The union made the declaration on Tuesday during a nationwide solidarity rally held across the country to demand the immediate and unconditional release of teachers and learners currently being held captive by kidnappers and terrorists.

NUT national president, Comrade Audu Titus Amba, who addressed journalists at the union’s national headquarters in Abuja, expressed deep concern over worsening insecurity in schools, describing the continued abduction of teachers and students as a direct attack on education and the future of the nation.

According to him, seven teachers and 39 pupils and students were kidnapped from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State on May 15, while more than 40 pupils were abducted from Mussa Primary and Secondary Schools in Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State on the same day.

Amba lamented that more than two weeks after the incidents, the victims remained in captivity under harsh conditions while their families continued to suffer anxiety and uncertainty.

“It is heartbreaking to note that two of our colleagues have been gruesomely murdered in cold blood by the bandits in Oyo State. The fate of the remaining abductees remains uncertain,” he said.

The NUT president disclosed that the union had already directed all primary and secondary school teachers in Oyo State to withdraw their services indefinitely from June 1 until the abducted teachers and students are rescued.

He warned that the union would not hesitate to extend the industrial action nationwide if the situation persists.

“If it becomes obvious and necessary that we ask teachers all over the country to down tools, it is not going to be difficult. We have the responsibility to speak for our teachers whenever they are not secure in their places of duty,” Amba said.

The union leader stressed that teachers should not become targets of criminal attacks while carrying out their professional responsibilities.

“These teachers were attacked and kidnapped in the course of their duties. If people are not safe in their places of work, where then can they be safe? Schools should be safe havens for learning, not crime scenes,” he added.

Amba called for the immediate, unconditional and safe release of all teachers and learners held captive across the country.

He declared that attacks on schools undermine quality education delivery and threaten Nigeria’s future development.

“An attack on teachers is an attack on education, and an attack on education is an attack on the future of Nigeria,” he said.

CAN wants state of emergency declared

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has called on the Federal Government to declare a State of Emergency on Security as escalating killings, kidnappings, terrorist attacks and the destruction of communities continue to threaten national stability and public safety across the country.

The call formed part of a communiqué issued at the end of the National Church Denominational Leaders Summit 2026, organised by CAN under the theme, “The State of the Nation and the Way Forward.”