President Bola Tinubu has assured abducted Nigerian children and their families that the Federal Government is intensifying efforts to secure their safe return and bring perpetrators to justice.
The President told the children in captivity that the government has not abandoned nor forgotten them as directives have been issued to the security agencies for their safe rescue.
The pledge was contained in his message on the 2026 Children’s Day celebration.
“As a father and your President: you are not forgotten. You are not abandoned,” Tinubu said, speaking directly to children, parents and teachers still held in captivity in Oyo, Borno and other affected states.
He acknowledged the national pain: “Some children have been forced into fear. Some parents cannot join today’s celebration because their hearts are set on one prayer: ‘Bring our children home.’”
With the Children’s Day theme, “Future Now: Promoting Inclusion for Every Nigerian Child,” as his backdrop, the president framed the crisis as both a moral failure and an urgent security priority.
“To the families grieving and despondent, your government will not turn your pain into ceremony. We will continue to work until children taken from their homes, schools and communities are returned safely, and until those who profit from this cruelty are brought to justice,” he declared.
Tinubu ordered all relevant security agencies to “sustain and intensify coordinated rescue operations” that are intelligence-led and focused on recovering children safely.
He also directed urgent improvements in school protection across high-risk areas, including updated vulnerability mapping, tighter coordination between state governments and security commands, rapid response links between schools and local security units, and stronger community-based early warning systems.
“The Federal Ministry of Education, working with state governments, is to deepen the implementation of the Safe Schools framework with clear reporting, clear responsibility and clear timelines,” the president said, insisting that “every school in a vulnerable area must know who to call, what to do, where to move, and how to protect children when danger is identified.”
He emphasized that rescue is only the beginning of the state’s duty. “A child who returns from trauma must return to care, medical attention, counselling, education and dignity,” he stressed, ordering ministries and agencies to ensure recovered children receive “proper reintegration support, not temporary attention.”
The president warned that protecting children cannot be left to government alone.
According to him, “parents, teachers, traditional rulers, religious leaders, community leaders, youth groups, transport unions, local vigilantes and the media” have vital roles to play and are essential to prevention and response.
He added a blunt reminder about communal responsibility: “When a community sees strange movement around a school and keeps quiet, a child is placed at risk. When warning signs are ignored, families suffer.”
On the wider promise for Nigeria’s children, Tinubu painted a forward-looking agenda: “My administration remains committed to a Nigeria where every child can learn safely, grow in good health, eat well, access opportunity and dream without fear. We are investing in education, health care, nutrition, social protection, digital skills and safer communities because childhood must not be a privilege reserved for a few.”
The President in his message further added: “To our children, you matter—your dreams matter; your safety matters. Your education matters. Be assured that your future matters to this government and to this nation, and we will safeguard it.”
In a statement released on May 27, 2026, Ezekwesili accused the government and political class of failing Nigerian children and lacking the moral authority to celebrate them.
The former minister referenced a series of school abductions and insecurity incidents across the country, including the Chibok, Dapchi, Kuriga and Kankara cases, arguing that many affected children remain unaccounted for years later.
She also cited recent reports of attacks and kidnappings affecting schools in Oyo, Kebbi and Niger states, saying the trend reflected a worsening security situation for children.
Ezekwesili further criticised the country’s education and social welfare indicators, pointing to out-of-school children, learning poverty, hunger and child health challenges.
She called on government officials to provide details on children still in captivity and publish updated data on education and child welfare outcomes.
“If you must dare speak on this May 27, then for once, speak the truth of your failures,” she said.
“Tell us the names and current locations of every single child still in captivity… Publish the audited figures on out-of-school children, on stunting, on learning poverty, and on child mortality.”
The former minister argued that political leaders should focus on measurable actions to improve child protection, education and welfare rather than ceremonial statements.
“A government that cannot protect its children has forfeited the right to celebrate them,” she added.
Addressing Nigerian children directly, Ezekwesili said, “Some of us see you. The Nigeria you deserve is a country in which you are safe, educated, fed, healed, free to dream and work hard to be the best of anything you choose to become.”
