Atiku Condemns Kogi School Abductions, Says Exam Halls Must Never Become Crime Scenes (

Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Atiku Abubakar, has strongly condemned the abduction of the Principal of Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc official and students who were sitting for their NECO examination in Kogi State.

Describing the incident as a disturbing reflection of Nigeria's worsening security situation, Atiku said schools and examination centres should remain places of learning and hope, not scenes of violence and fear.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president said the attack demonstrates what he described as the government's failure to perform its most fundamental responsibility of protecting the lives, education and future of Nigerian children.

"An examination hall should be a sanctuary of hope, not a crime scene. A school principal should be preparing students for the future, not negotiating with kidnappers. A NECO official should be supervising examinations, not struggling for survival in the hands of bandits. Yet this has become the grim reality under a government that has normalised insecurity," Atiku said.

He argued that the latest abduction is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern in which schools have increasingly become targets for criminal groups because they no longer fear the consequences of attacking educational institutions.

According to him, the continued attacks on schools point to a deeper governance crisis that extends beyond security.

Atiku also criticised what he described as the government's handling of the education sector, alleging that rising examination fees, inadequate investment in public education and the failure to secure learning environments have collectively undermined access to quality education.

"It is impossible to separate this attack from the attitude this administration has displayed towards education. A government that has repeatedly made education more expensive through unprecedented increases in WAEC and NECO examination fees, neglected public schools, failed to secure learning environments and reduced education to empty campaign slogans should not be surprised that criminals now see schools as abandoned territories," he stated.

He further argued that government policies have effectively created a "double assault" on Nigerian children by making education less affordable while also failing to guarantee their safety in schools.

"First, they price poor children out of classrooms. Then they fail to protect those who remain in school. This is a double assault on the future of Nigeria. One is economic exclusion; the other is violent intimidation. Together, they amount to a systematic destruction of the dreams of an entire generation," he added.

The former vice president linked the deteriorating security situation to what he described as poor governance and weak fiscal discipline, saying repeated attacks on schools continue because perpetrators face little deterrence while government responses remain largely reactive.

He warned that every successful attack emboldens criminal groups and makes schools increasingly attractive targets.

"The collapse of school security is not merely a security failure; it is a collapse of governance itself. A country where children cannot safely write examinations is a country steadily surrendering its future to fear," he said.

Atiku called for the immediate and unconditional rescue of all those abducted during the incident and urged the Federal Government to undertake a comprehensive review of security arrangements in schools and examination centres across the country.

He also challenged the authorities to move beyond routine condemnations after attacks and implement practical security reforms capable of restoring public confidence.

"A government that devalues education inadvertently empowers those who seek to destroy it. When the state fails to defend its schools, bandits inevitably conclude that nobody else will.

"The children of Nigeria deserve books instead of bullets, classrooms instead of captivity, examinations instead of evacuation, and hope instead of horror. That is the minimum any responsible government owes its people," Atiku said.