Tinubu Celebrates His Third Year And Enters His Fourth Year, 81 Nigerian Schoolchildren Still In Terrorists’ Den

The Federal Government is facing a storm of criticism from civil society organisations and opposition leaders after it emerged that 81 schoolchildren abducted from schools in Oyo and Borno States remain in captivity weeks after they were taken, even as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu marked his third anniversary in office on May 29 and officially entered his fourth year.

The groups, in a statement issued after the 2026 Children’s Day celebration, lamented that while Nigeria marked the annual event meant to celebrate children and reflect on their future, dozens of pupils remained in captivity with little sign of urgent government action to secure their release. The abduction figure includes 39 primary and secondary school pupils alongside seven teachers who were taken by terrorists in Oyo State, where one of the teachers, Mr. Oyedokun Olugbade, was beheaded a few days ago. Similarly, another 42 children were abducted on May 15, 2026, by suspected Boko Haram militants during an attack on Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, which marked the first school abduction in Borno since the 2014 Chibok incident.

The coalition, which includes rapper and activist Falz, Hassan Soweto of the EndBadGovernanceMovement, and a coalition of over 15 civil society groups, said, “It is only right on the occasion of this year’s Children’s Day celebration that we ask President Bola Tinubu: Where are our abducted children? Why have they not been found?” They accused the government of carrying on with business as usual, occasionally offering platitudinous statements of assurance while doing absolutely nothing to rescue the children. The groups argued that Nigeria’s government and its security agencies possess the wherewithal to locate anyone within the territory of the nation, questioning why state of the art surveillance technology is not being deployed.

The CSOs drew a direct comparison between Tinubu and former President Goodluck Jonathan, saying, “Just like former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014 when the Chibok girls were abducted, President Tinubu is as clueless about what to do to curb the rampaging insecurity afflicting Nigeria.” They also condemned Tinubu, his ministers, and National Assembly members for engaging in party primaries even as over 81 children languish in terrorists’ dens, declaring that a government unable to protect children has failed in its primary responsibility and has no moral authority to ask citizens to vote for it at the next election.

In response, President Tinubu issued a personally signed statement on Children’s Day, assuring the abducted children and their parents that they have not been forgotten or abandoned. “As we mark this special day, which coincides with Eid el Kabir, some Nigerian children and their teachers in Oyo and Borno should be with their families, but are being held captive by criminals,” Tinubu said. “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 disclosed that he had directed all relevant security agencies to sustain and intensify coordinated rescue operations and ordered the strengthening of school protection measures in high risk areas.

However, the President’s assurances have failed to quell the outrage. The opposition has seized on the incident to deliver a blistering critique of the administration. Atiku Abubakar, the 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, called on President Tinubu to step down from office, charging that he has shown a lack of capacity to handle the nation’s security challenges. “President Tinubu has no moral or political latitude to stay in Aso Villa a day longer if tens of hundreds of abducted citizens languish in captivity across the country,” Atiku said. He recounted that the abducted schoolchildren spent Children’s Day in detention while the Tinubu led administration continues to make empty promises.

The coalition of CSOs, which includes the Joint Action Front, the Youth Rights Campaign, and the Movement for the Transformation of Nigeria, has called on Nigerians, organised labour, and youths to embark on peaceful nationwide protests to demand the rescue of all abducted Nigerians and improved security across the country. As Tinubu enters his fourth year in office with a record of economic hardship, rising insecurity, and now over 80 children held by terrorists, critics say the anniversary is nothing to celebrate.

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