Government Failed to Learn From Chibok

The Founding Director of the West Africa Democracy Centre (WardC), Abiola Akiode, has accused the Nigerian government of failing to learn key lessons from the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction, saying repeated attacks on schools and students show that existing safety measures are not being effectively implemented.

The comments were made during the News Central Town Hall in Oyo State, themed “Oyo at a Crossroads: Security, Safety and the Future,” on Thursday.

Speaking at the event, Akiode stressed that Nigerians must demand greater accountability from government officials responsible for protecting lives and property.

Dr Abiola Akiode. Credit: NewsCentral TV.

The speaker emphasised the impact of insurgency-related attacks on schools in the North-East, noting that thousands of teachers and students were affected.

“In Maiduguri alone, over 1,000 teachers were abducted, over 600 were killed in front of their students, and more than 2,000 students were taken. That was enough for the government to learn lessons,” the WARDC Director said.

According to the WARDC director, Nigeria adopted the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools in 2021, in line with the Safe Schools Declaration.

However, Abiola argued that many of the policy’s provisions have not been fully enforced.

She pointed to the lack of effective early warning systems, poor use of community intelligence, and inadequate implementation of security measures designed to protect schools from attacks.

“Citizens must hold the government accountable. If we do not activate the office of the citizen, we will continue having this kind of problem,” Abiola said.

.@abiolaak, founding director of WARDC, says successive school abductions across Nigeria show the government has failed to learn from past tragedies or implement safety measures.#NCTownHallSeries pic.twitter.com/5NAaYM492j

— News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) June 11, 2026

Also, she highlighted recent school abductions and attacks across different parts of the country, expressing concern over the continued targeting of students despite existing security frameworks.

Calling for urgent action, the WardC director said government must treat the protection of schools and children as a national priority.

“The president of this country has a responsibility to provide security to the people, and this is clearly a failure in that responsibility,” the WardC director added.

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Deborah Akwa

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