Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has issued a dramatic and chilling ultimatum to the Federal Government: guarantee the safety of schools and educators or face a total nationwide shutdown of basic education. Speaking to The PUNCH on 28 May 2026, NUT National President Comrade Titus Amba declared that the union can no longer tolerate the rising wave of banditry and kidnappings that has turned classrooms into hunting grounds. “If this should happen again in any of our states, we will have no reason not to shut down the entire basic education system,” Amba warned. “If teachers are not safe where they work, then the system has failed because our schools are endangered.” He stressed that life must come first: “If there is no life, there will be no work for us to do.”
The union’s fury is rooted in a series of brazen assaults that have shattered the illusion of safety in Nigeria’s education sector. On 15 May 2026, gunmen simultaneously attacked three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State – Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School, Ahoro‑Esinele; and L.A. Primary School, Esiele. Abductors seized a school principal, seven teachers and over 30 pupils and students. One teacher was shot dead while wearing his NUT uniform; another was later beheaded in captivity. Hours later, on the same day, armed bandits abducted more than 40 pupils and students from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary Schools in Askira‑Uba Local Government Area of Borno State. The union also cited recent attacks in Kebbi State where teachers and students were carted away and a vice‑principal was killed in front of his family. Amba expressed deep frustration that despite repeated warnings and the existence of the Safe School Initiative, “pockets of kidnappings, banditry and killings have been going on in Borno and recently in Kebbi and Oyo.” He lamented that the Safe School Initiative had failed to achieve its objective of securing schools nationwide.
The teachers’ anger has already translated into concrete action at the local level. The Oyo State chapter of the NUT has directed all teachers in the Oriire Local Government Area to stay away from schools indefinitely, effective 26 May 2026. The directive, contained in a statement signed by the NUT State Secretary, Salami Olukayode, described the abduction of 39 students and seven teachers as “unfortunate” and a trauma that had left a “huge scar” on the teaching profession. “Teachers cannot effectively discharge their duties in an atmosphere of fear and insecurity, where they are subjected to inhuman acts of kidnapping, maiming and killing,” the NUT had stated earlier in a position paper signed by its National President and Secretary General. The union is now demanding that the Federal Government and affected state governments urgently strengthen security around schools, deploy proactive counter‑measures, and adopt long‑term strategies to prevent future attacks.
The Safe Schools Initiative, which was supposed to provide a protective shield for educational institutions, has drawn particular scorn from the union. Amba noted that while the programme was a good idea on paper, its implementation has been a failure. “The Safe School Initiative was good, but we are not yet there. It has not ensured the security of our schools because pockets of kidnappings, banditry and killings have been going on in Borno and recently in Kebbi and Oyo,” he said. Teachers now feel that they have been abandoned to face an existential threat without adequate protection. “Teachers are being killed and kidnapped. In Kebbi, teachers and students were carted away; the vice principal was killed in the presence of the family. In Oyo, teachers were kidnapped; one was killed, another was beheaded in broad daylight,” Amba recounted.
Parents across the country have reacted with growing alarm to the union’s threat. Many are now torn between the fear of sending their children to school and the fear of a prolonged shutdown that would disrupt their education. One mother, who asked not to be named, told Stone Reporters News: “If teachers stop working, what will our children do? But if they keep going to unsafe schools, what will happen to them?” The NUT, however, insists that it has exhausted all channels of negotiation. “This is the last time that we will agitate alone,” Amba declared. “We have said a lot of things; we have given warnings to government and if this persists, we will have no alternative but to ask our teachers to stay indoors until their safety at their place of work is guaranteed.”
The union’s stance has received backing from civil society and human rights groups, who argue that the relentless attacks on schools represent a catastrophic failure of governance. The NUT has called on all Nigerians to collectively demand improved security around schools and communities. “Nigerians must be safe, our schools must be well protected, our teachers, students and pupils must be protected,” Amba said. “You wouldn’t want to send your ward to school and not have him return home.”
As the country nervously awaits the next move, the message from the teachers is unambiguous: enough is enough. The NUT has effectively put the government on notice that the next attack will be the trigger for a shutdown that could leave millions of children out of school and bring the already fragile education sector to its knees.
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