By Cross Udo, Abuja
The Nigeria Labour Congress has raised fresh alarm over the rising wave of school abductions and killings across the country, accusing the Federal Government of failing to protect innocent children from increasingly daring criminal gangs.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Wednesday, NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, said Nigeria’s schools were fast becoming “hunting grounds” for kidnappers and terrorists, warning that the country was sliding into a dangerous security crisis.
“For too long, we have watched our schools become hunting grounds. This is not just an attack on families; it is an assault on the future of our nation,” Ajaero declared.
The labour movement expressed outrage over the recent abduction of about 39 pupils and seven teachers from Community High School and L.A. Basic School, Ahoro Esinele, and First Baptist School, Yawota, all in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
NLC said the worsening attacks on schools reflected a frightening normalisation of violence and insecurity across the country.
“At first, many treated it as another grim headline — a weary shrug. That reaction reflects how deeply our sense of humanity has been eroded and how resigned we have become to this new, terrifying normal,” the statement said.
The Congress condemned the reported torture of victims during captivity and the killing of a teacher by the abductors, describing the incidents as barbaric.
“What makes Ahoro Esinele and Yawota unbearable is the profile of the victims — little children — and the brutality recorded during captivity, including the murder of a teacher,” Ajaero stated.
He warned that criminal groups had become emboldened to the point of openly challenging the Authority of the Nigerian state.
“When criminals film themselves torturing the innocent and post it as a spectacle, they are broadcasting their power and daring the state to respond,” he added.
According to the NLC, security operatives and local vigilantes who attempted rescue operations were reportedly repelled with improvised explosive devices, while the abductors allegedly used children as human shields.
The labour body said the development exposed serious weaknesses in Nigeria’s security and emergency response architecture.
“This exposes a chilling weakness: we have lost the kinetic deterrence and extraction capabilities necessary to save lives in these circumstances,” the statement noted.
The Congress warned that continued inability of the government to protect communities could force citizens to seek protection from criminal groups.
“Worse still, if the state cannot protect communities, citizens may increasingly turn to bandits for security — a catastrophic shift in loyalty and an implicit vote of no confidence in our institutions,” it stated.
The NLC lamented that kidnappings, once associated with remote rural areas, were now spreading into schools, towns and cities.
“There is another grim truth: nowhere is safe anymore. What were once distant stories of abduction have moved to rural schools and now threaten our towns and cities,” the statement added.
Calling for an urgent overhaul of Nigeria’s security strategy, Ajaero said the fight against terrorism must stop being “mismanaged or monetised” and instead focus squarely on protecting citizens.
“This moment demands a candid national conversation and an urgent change of strategy. The fight against terrorism must move from being mismanaged or monetised to being focused solely on survival and the protection of citizens,” he said.
The NLC demanded immediate rescue operations for abducted victims, improved intelligence-sharing, strengthened bomb-response units and visible security around schools.
“We can no longer accept platitudes. We demand decisive action — not prayers, not condolences — but results that protect our children and restore confidence in the state,” Ajaero stressed.
The Congress also called on authorities to dismantle ransom networks and prosecute individuals financing kidnapping operations.
“Enough blood has been shed. Address this security challenge now, before our nation’s future is irreparably harmed,” the statement added.
