CSOs condemn Borno schoolchildren abduction, demand security overhaul

The Network of Civil Society Organisations in Borno State (NECSOB) has condemned the abduction of 48 school children by insurgents in the Askira-Uba Local Government Area of the state, demanding an overhaul of the security architecture to protect vulnerable communities.

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The mass kidnapping occurred on Friday at Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in the Mussa-Biri community.

In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Abubakar Suleiman, and obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the coalition expressed “profound shock” over the attack, which took place during prime morning learning hours.

The raid threw the school into chaos, as dozens of other students fled into the bushes for safety, with parents and the community left in deep psychological trauma.

Threat

NECSOB warned that terrorists targeting vulnerable children is a grave violation of human rights that directly undermines recent successes recorded by the government in stabilising the state.

For years, the Borno State Government has been on an aggressive drive to increase enrollment and reopen schools shut down by more than a decade of Boko Haram insurgency.

“This terrifying incidence poses a direct threat to milestones achieved in our stabilisation efforts and child enrolment drive,” Mr Suleiman said. “It further instils fear in parents and caregivers, casting a dark shadow over the right to safe learning environments,“ the group said.

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While acknowledging the sustained counter-terrorism efforts of both the federal and Borno State governments, the network insisted that more must be done to secure communities bordering insurgent strongholds.

The group noted that the Mussa-Biri incident exposes a critical vulnerability in the outer perimeters of local government areas near the Sambisa Forest, the Mandara Mountains, and the fringes of the Lake Chad basin.

NECSOB also urged security agencies to investigate the “complicity of local informants’ networks” and insider threats that may have facilitated the attack.

The demands

To prevent a recurrence and ensure the safe return of the victims, the civil society network put forward five key demands to the government and security agencies:

Unconditional Release: The immediate, safe, and unconditional release of all 48 children abducted from the school, as well as all other citizens currently held in captivity.

Rapid Rescue Operations: A coordinated tracking operation by security forces to rescue the captives and locate the traumatised students who fled into the bushes.

Security Architecture Review: A total review of the current security setup to activate reliable early-warning systems capable of preventing insurgent incursions into resettlement and border communities.

Safe Schools Declaration: The immediate operationalization of the Safe Schools Declaration across all 27 LGAs in Borno State, including the deployment of heavily reinforced community policing around schools and healthcare centers.

READ ALSO: UPDATED: Terrorists kidnap students from Borno school

Grassroots Intelligence: The organization of town hall dialogues with community leaders, traditional institutions, and local CSOs to mobilise local intelligence and build an inclusive defence system.

“In these dark hours, the Network of Civil Society Organisations – Borno State (NECSOB) stands in solidarity with the affected families and the entire people of Mussa-Birri community,” the statement concluded.

“We will not relent in holding duty-bearers accountable until every child is back home and in the classroom.”

No group has claimed responsibility for the abductions, but Askira-Uba frequently suffers attacks by remnants of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).