Schoolchildren as Targets: Should the St Mary’s Debate Focus on Ransom Payments or Safeguarding Failures?
The controversy over whether ransom was paid for the release of nearly 300 pupils and staff abducted from St Mary’s boarding school in Niger State has sparked political tension and public debate. Yet beyond the denials and intelligence claims lies a more pressing issue: why do Nigerian schoolchildren remain so exposed to mass abductions?
Regardless of how negotiations unfolded, the central fact is clear. Hundreds of children were taken from what should have been a protected environment. Schools are meant to be safeguarding spaces. In several parts of Nigeria, they have instead become strategic targets for armed groups seeking leverage, publicity, and funding.
Nigeria’s Anti-Terrorism Act criminalises ransom payments, prescribing up to 15 years in prison. Still, kidnapping persists, described by analysts as an organised, profit-driven enterprise. This creates a painful dilemma when children are involved. Families and authorities face immense pressure to secure release quickly. But focusing only on ransom allegations risks ignoring the deeper safeguarding failure: prevention.
The repeated pattern of school abductions, from Kankara to Niger State, points to systemic protection gaps. Many rural and boarding schools operate without adequate perimeter security, surveillance systems, or rapid response coordination. Communities near forested or border regions remain particularly vulnerable to armed factions that move with relative ease.
Child protection must begin before an attack occurs. That means risk mapping, reinforced school infrastructure, trained security presence, and clear emergency protocols. It must also continue after rescue. Survivors of abduction often return with severe psychological trauma. Without sustained mental health support and structured reintegration, the harm lingers long after headlines fade.
The St Mary’s case is not just a counter-terror or financing story. It is a safeguarding alarm. Until prevention measures are strengthened and child-centred recovery systems prioritised, schools will remain soft targets.
Parents should not have to choose between education and safety. Protecting children must move from reactive negotiations to proactive safeguarding, ensuring classrooms are places of learning, not fear.
