The United Nations Children’s Fund has called on the Federal and Borno State governments to magnify efforts to secure the release of 78 kids abducted from two schools in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of the state.
The children were taken in separate attacks on schools in Mussa and Lassa communities, with suspected Boko Haram insurgents blamed for both incidents.
On Might 16, 42 students and students were supposedly abducted after presumed terrorists assaulted Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in the local government location.
A second occurrence took place on June 29 when believed Boko Haram terrorists got into Federal government Day Secondary School in Lassa, where 36 students and an instructor were supposedly eliminated.
The 2 occurrences have left 78 schoolchildren missing out on, according to reports.
Speaking during a media briefing in Maiduguri to mark the 2026 World Humanitarian Day, UNICEF Nigeria Deputy Agent, Dr Rownak Khan, expressed issue over the continued abduction of kids in Borno and other parts of the nation.
Khan prompted the authorities to prioritise efforts to protect the safe return of the abducted children to their families.
She stressed that schools ought to offer children with a secure environment where they can discover, establish and pursue their education without worry of violence or kidnapping.
“We are fretted about the abduction of children, not just in Borno State but in Nigeria at large. School needs to be a safe location for them. They come here to learn and grow themselves,” she said.
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The UNICEF authorities divulged that the organisation had actually been working with the Borno State Government to enhance and execute steps under the Safe Schools framework.
She, however, acknowledged that securing schools remained carefully connected to the larger security situation in the country, making the obstacle more complicated.
Khan said UNICEF was joining other stakeholders in requiring concerted action to ensure that the abducted kids were released.
She also vowed UNICEF’s support for the children once they restored their freedom, especially in helping them recover from the mental and physical effects of their ordeal.
According to her, the organisation would deal with the government to facilitate their reintegration into their households and communities and provide necessary psychosocial, health and dietary assistance.
Khan preserved that the main obligation for securing kids and securing their release rested with the Nigerian government.
“At the end of the day, they are Nigerian kids, so it is the supreme responsibility of the government of Nigeria to ensure that, first, they are not abducted, and second of all, put all the effort to release those children back to their households,” she said.
The current appeal comes amid continuing concerns over attacks on schools and the security of learners in parts of northern Nigeria, where insecurity has actually disrupted education and forced some kids out of school.