The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has received with profound shock, outrage and national embarrassment reports of the terrorist attack on Government Day Secondary School, Lassa, in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, where armed criminals reportedly invaded the school during the conduct of the National Examinations Council (NECO) Senior School Certificate Examination, abducted an unspecified number of students, killed a teacher and injured another.
This latest attack is not merely another security breach. It is a devastating indictment of the failure of Nigeria’s security architecture and a tragic reminder that, despite repeated assurances from government officials, terrorists, insurgents, bandits and other non-state actors continue to operate with alarming audacity while innocent citizens remain exposed and vulnerable.
HURIWA is compelled to ask President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Federal Government a question that millions of Nigerians are asking today: How many more schoolchildren must be kidnapped, killed, traumatised or forced out of classrooms before the Federal Government admits that the current security strategy has failed and requires urgent restructuring?
How many more teachers must die?
How many more communities must be overrun?
How many more farmers must be prevented from cultivating their lands?
How many more passengers must be abducted from highways?
How many more soldiers must lose their lives battling terrorists who appear increasingly emboldened?
How many more Nigerian families must live in fear before those responsible for the nation’s security are held accountable?
The attack on students writing public examinations strikes at the very heart of Nigeria’s future. It represents an assault on education, human development, national stability and the aspirations of a generation of young Nigerians whose only offence was seeking knowledge and preparing for their future.
What is particularly disturbing is that this attack occurred in Borno State, a region that has suffered immensely from insurgency and where government officials routinely claim that significant progress has been made in degrading terrorist networks.
If terrorists can still invade schools, kill educators and abduct students in broad daylight in a state that has remained the epicentre of Nigeria’s counter-insurgency efforts for over a decade, then serious questions must be asked about the effectiveness of the current security leadership.
HURIWA therefore calls on President Tinubu to immediately undertake a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s security architecture.
The continued retention of officials who have failed to deliver meaningful and sustainable improvements in national security undermines public confidence and sends the wrong signal that there are no consequences for institutional failure.
The National Security Adviser, the heads of intelligence agencies, the Chief of Defence Staff, Service Chiefs and all strategic security coordinators must be subjected to a rigorous performance review. Those found incapable of effectively discharging their responsibilities should be relieved of their appointments without delay.
No serious nation rewards persistent failure with continued tenure.
No responsible government watches repeated security disasters unfold and pretends that all is well.
No administration genuinely committed to protecting lives should be comfortable with a situation in which schools have become hunting grounds for terrorists and criminal gangs.
HURIWA notes that beyond the tragedy in Lassa, Nigeria is witnessing an alarming expansion of insecurity across several regions. Communities are under siege from terrorists and bandits. Kidnapping has become an industry. Rural populations are increasingly displaced. Farmers are unable to access their lands. Economic activities are being disrupted. Citizens are losing faith in the capacity of the state to protect them.
The Federal Government must understand that security is not measured by official press briefings, statistics or public relations campaigns. Security is measured by whether ordinary citizens can sleep peacefully in their homes, travel safely on highways, cultivate their farms without fear and send their children to school without the risk of abduction or death.
The recurring attacks on educational institutions are particularly dangerous because they threaten to reverse decades of progress in school enrolment and educational development. Every attack on a school deepens fear, discourages attendance and fuels illiteracy, poverty and social instability.
HURIWA demands the immediate deployment of all necessary military, intelligence and law-enforcement resources to ensure the safe rescue of the abducted students and the apprehension of the perpetrators of this heinous crime.
We further demand a transparent investigation into the circumstances that made this attack possible, including any intelligence failures, operational lapses or negligence on the part of security agencies responsible for protecting vulnerable communities and institutions.
The Federal Government must also urgently implement a nationwide security framework dedicated to the protection of schools, examination centres and educational institutions, especially in regions facing persistent security threats.
Nigerians are tired of condolences without action.
Nigerians are tired of promises without results.
Nigerians are tired of official statements that celebrate successes while innocent citizens continue to die.
The blood of the slain teacher demands justice.
The anguish of abducted students demands urgent action.
The fears of parents across the country demand reassurance through concrete and measurable results.
President Tinubu must demonstrate leadership by taking decisive action against institutional complacency and operational failures within the nation’s security system.
The time for cosmetic adjustments has passed.
The time for excuses has expired.
The time for accountability is now.
Nigeria’s children deserve classrooms, not battlefields.
Nigeria’s teachers deserve protection, not death sentences.
Nigeria’s citizens deserve security, not endless promises.
History will judge harshly any government that fails to protect its people when it possesses both the constitutional authority and the resources to do so.
Signed:
Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko
National Coordinator
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA)
29th June, 2026
