EAA Foundation Condemns Attacks on Schools in Nigeria, Calls for Urgent Protection of Education
The Education Above All (EAA) Foundation strongly condemns the latest attack on Government Day Secondary School in Lassa, Borno State, in northeast Nigeria where armed assailants targeted students sitting their national examinations.
According to the Borno State Government, 37 people remain in captivity, including 36 students (25 girls and 11 boys) and one school staff member, while eight people, including the school's vice principal, have been rescued. The attack also claimed the lives of at least one teacher and one soldier. These students were simply exercising their fundamental right to education when their school became the latest target of violence.
This latest attack reflects a deeply concerning pattern of repeated attacks on schools in Nigeria over the past three months. In May 2026, armed militants attacked Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira-Uba, Borno State, abducting 42 children, including 32 pupils from the school and 10 children from nearby homes. In the same month, armed men attacked three schools in Oriire Local Government Area, Oyo State, abducting 39 pupils, seven teachers, and a two-year-old child, while at least one teacher was killed and another reportedly died in captivity.
Less than a month later, three people were killed in a school attack in the country’s central Kogi state, including the vice principal, a 70-year-old man and a 6-year-old child.
Together, these incidents demonstrate the persistent and widening threat facing students, teachers, and schools across Nigeria.
EAA Foundation calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all students and education personnel still being held, accountability for those responsible, and strengthened national and international efforts to protect schools, learners, and educators from attack. Every child has the right to learn in safety, and every school must remain a place of hope, not fear.
These incidents reinforce the urgent need to fully implement the Safe Schools Declaration and strengthen measures to prevent attacks on education. As highlighted in the Education under Attack 2026 report, attacks on education continue to rise globally. More than 8,566 attacks on education have been recorded during 2024–2025, harming at least 10,600 students and education personnel a 40 per cent increase compared to the 2022-23 period. In Nigeria, attacks on education have continued in the 2024-2025 reporting period, when at least 90 students, teachers, and other education staff were killed or injured, and the number of students and staff abducted increased sharply, to over 700. Military use of schools has also continued and has led, in several instances, to subsequent targeting by opposing forces.
Protecting education is not only a legal obligation under international law, it is essential to safeguarding children's futures and building peaceful, resilient societies.
These attacks come ahead of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, which will be observed on 9th September in Doha 2026 under the theme, "Can Education Survive Attack? The Resilience of Human Communities.".
Nigeria has suffered a pattern of deliberate targeting of schools, students and teachers for over a decade. It is more urgent than ever that education systems in Nigeria are strengthened and made resilient through introducing early warning systems and preventative action plans to ensure that education survives attacks and learning continues.
The annual observance serves as a global call to protect students, teachers, and schools from violence, while highlighting the resilience of communities that continue to keep learning alive despite conflict and insecurity. As attacks on education continue to rise worldwide, the International Day underscores the urgent need for stronger protection, accountability, and sustained investment to ensure that education can continue.
The Education Above All (EAA) Foundation strongly condemns the latest attack on Government Day Secondary School in Lassa, Borno State, in northeast Nigeria where armed assailants targeted students sitting their national examinations.
According to the Borno State Government, 37 people remain in captivity, including 36 students (25 girls and 11 boys) and one school staff member, while eight people, including the school's vice principal, have been rescued. The attack also claimed the lives of at least one teacher and one soldier. These students were simply exercising their fundamental right to education when their school became the latest target of violence.
This latest attack reflects a deeply concerning pattern of repeated attacks on schools in Nigeria over the past three months. In May 2026, armed militants attacked Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira-Uba, Borno State, abducting 42 children, including 32 pupils from the school and 10 children from nearby homes. In the same month, armed men attacked three schools in Oriire Local Government Area, Oyo State, abducting 39 pupils, seven teachers, and a two-year-old child, while at least one teacher was killed and another reportedly died in captivity.
Less than a month later, three people were killed in a school attack in the country’s central Kogi state, including the vice principal, a 70-year-old man and a 6-year-old child.
Together, these incidents demonstrate the persistent and widening threat facing students, teachers, and schools across Nigeria.
EAA Foundation calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all students and education personnel still being held, accountability for those responsible, and strengthened national and international efforts to protect schools, learners, and educators from attack. Every child has the right to learn in safety, and every school must remain a place of hope, not fear.
These incidents reinforce the urgent need to fully implement the Safe Schools Declaration and strengthen measures to prevent attacks on education. As highlighted in the Education under Attack 2026 report, attacks on education continue to rise globally. More than 8,566 attacks on education have been recorded during 2024–2025, harming at least 10,600 students and education personnel a 40 per cent increase compared to the 2022-23 period. In Nigeria, attacks on education have continued in the 2024-2025 reporting period, when at least 90 students, teachers, and other education staff were killed or injured, and the number of students and staff abducted increased sharply, to over 700. Military use of schools has also continued and has led, in several instances, to subsequent targeting by opposing forces.
Protecting education is not only a legal obligation under international law, it is essential to safeguarding children's futures and building peaceful, resilient societies.
These attacks come ahead of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, which will be observed on 9th September in Doha 2026 under the theme, "Can Education Survive Attack? The Resilience of Human Communities.".
Nigeria has suffered a pattern of deliberate targeting of schools, students and teachers for over a decade. It is more urgent than ever that education systems in Nigeria are strengthened and made resilient through introducing early warning systems and preventative action plans to ensure that education survives attacks and learning continues.
The annual observance serves as a global call to protect students, teachers, and schools from violence, while highlighting the resilience of communities that continue to keep learning alive despite conflict and insecurity. As attacks on education continue to rise worldwide, the International Day underscores the urgent need for stronger protection, accountability, and sustained investment to ensure that education can continue.
For more information, contact EAA Media Specialists.
