Incessant Abduction of School Children and Girl Child Education in Northwest Nigeria

The incessant abduction of schoolchildren by armed groups in northern Nigeria has posed a threat to the girl child’s education in the region. These abductions were attributed to the inadequate security personnel, negligence by schools on security alerts and community members’ involvement in providing information to the bandits, which increased vulnerability. The abduction of schoolchildren has affected girl child enrolment and instilled fear and trauma in girls who are willing to acquire basic education in the study area. The article presents findings from incessant abduction of school children in Northwest Nigeria to inform policy and planning on the safety of schools and education of the girl child in the region. The conditioning theory of fear was adopted by the study to explain the impact of threats and situations of fear on girl child education in Northwest Nigeria. The study is evidence-based, with data collected from 40 respondents using in-depth interviews in the Birnin Yauri Community of Kebbi State. Participants were selected using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The data collected were analysed using thematic analysis. The study recommends, among others, that the government should be committed to school safety and, in collaboration with community leaders, embark on massive enlightenment programmes and psycho-social support programmes to encourage girls to continue their education post-attacks.