ADC Says School Closures Lay Bare Nigeria’s Failure to Protect Students

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the Federal Government’s decision to shut schools in response to rising insecurity, warning that the measure signals an inability to safeguard citizens.

Bolaji Abdullahi, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, told Channels Television’s Politics Today that the closures effectively concede victory to armed groups targeting education.

He argued that shutting classrooms because of fears of mass abduction amounts to an admission that the authorities “can no longer protect” learning institutions.

Abdullahi warned that the move inadvertently strengthens the ideology of Boko Haram, the extremist group known for its stand against Western education.

“When you close schools because bandits could go and kidnap children, what you’re saying is, ‘I’m no longer capable of protecting my schools.’ And don’t forget the ideology of Boko Haram is that Western education is forbidden. So by shutting down schools, you reinforce that ideology,” he said.

The ADC spokesman also claimed that recent steps by President Bola Tinubu to address nationwide security challenges were prompted in part by pressure from US President Donald Trump. He dismissed allegations that the party was fuelling insecurity or lobbying foreign governments against Nigeria.

His comments come after schoolgirls abducted on 17 November—during an attack that left Vice Principal Malam Hassan Makuku dead—were released on Tuesday.

With tensions deepening across the country, President Tinubu on Wednesday declared a nationwide security emergency aimed at restoring order and protecting vulnerable communities.