School closures sweep through North: Bauchi joins Katsina, Plateau lockdown over attacks

School closures sweep through North: Bauchi joins Katsina, Plateau lockdown over attacks

 

Bauchi State on Friday ordered the immediate shutdown of all schools—public, private, state-owned, and federal—amid mounting security threats that have plunged much of northern Nigeria into fear and uncertainty.

The directive, announced in a statement by the Ministry of Education’s Information Officer, Jalaludeen Usman, followed what the government described as “extensive consultations and overwhelming security concerns” about the safety of students, teachers, and learning communities across the state.

“This decision, though difficult, was taken to protect lives. The safety of learners and educators is the government’s top priority,” the statement read.

Authorities urged residents to remain calm and cooperate with security agencies by reporting suspicious activities, assuring that normal academic activities would resume once it is safe.

Bauchi becomes the latest state to shut its schools as violent attacks and mass abductions sweep through the region.

Just days earlier, Katsina State announced the closure of all primary and secondary schools, joining Plateau State, which had also ordered the shutdown of its primary and junior secondary schools over worsening insecurity.

The Federal Government has likewise closed 47 Unity Schools nationwide as the wave of attacks intensifies.

The closures follow a string of brutal incidents targeting educational institutions, religious centres, and security formations, particularly in the North.

On Monday, gunmen invaded Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, abducting at least 24 schoolgirls and killing the vice principal.

On Friday, armed men stormed St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Niger State, kidnapping over 315 students and staff; about 50 students have so far escaped.

In Kwara State, attackers struck a church in Eruku, killing two worshippers and abducting several others. In Borno, terrorists ambushed a military team, killing a Brigadier-General and four security personnel.

The escalating violence has renewed national anxiety over school safety and the government’s ability to protect vulnerable communities in the North.