President Bola Tinubu has directed security agencies and relevant ministries to strengthen protection measures for schools in high-risk areas, as Nigeria marked Children’s Day on Wednesday.
Speaking in a message that coincided with the Eid-el-Kabir celebration, Tinubu acknowledged that some children and teachers in Oyo and Borno states remain in captivity, pledging that his administration would not abandon them.
“To those children, their parents, and their teachers, I say this as a father and your President: you are not forgotten.
You are not abandoned,” he said.The President directed all relevant security agencies to sustain and intensify intelligence-led rescue operations for abducted children and vulnerable citizens. “These operations must be intelligence-led, carefully executed and focused on the safe recovery of our children,” he added.
On school safety, Tinubu ordered updated vulnerability mapping for schools in high-risk zones, improved coordination between state governments and security commands, rapid response links between schools and local security units, and stronger community-based early warning systems.
He also directed the Federal Ministry of Education to work with state governments to deepen implementation of the Safe Schools framework, insisting that every school in a vulnerable area must have a clear emergency response plan.
The President further stressed that children rescued from abduction, violence or displacement must receive full rehabilitation support, including medical attention, counselling and access to education.
“A child who returns from trauma must return to care, medical attention, counselling, education and dignity,” he said.Tinubu called on parents, teachers, traditional rulers, religious leaders and the media to support child protection efforts, reaffirming his administration’s commitment to education, healthcare, nutrition and safer communities for Nigerian children.
