The Bring Back Our Girls Global Movement has sent an open letter to Tinubu, urging him to take urgent steps to rescue abducted students and bring an end to what it described as an eleven year cycle of school kidnappings across the country.
The letter dated Monday, November 24, 2025, and addressed to Tinubu as Commander in Chief, warned that Nigeria is experiencing a frightening pattern of attacks on schools.
The group said the continued abduction of students has become “an 11 year nightmare” that has left families devastated and communities living in fear.
The appeal came after two major abductions in November. On November 21, 303 students and 12 teachers were taken from St Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Agwarra Local Government Area of Niger State. Only 50 of them have escaped so far while hundreds remain in captivity.
Earlier on November 17, 25 schoolgirls and a watchman were abducted from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State.
The group also confirmed that the Vice Principal of the Kebbi school, Mallam Hassan Makuku, was killed while trying to defend his students. Another staff member, Ali Maga, was shot in the leg and is currently being treated at General Hospital, Zuru.
BBOG Global raised concerns that insecurity has forced the closure of many schools in states such as Niger, Katsina and Plateau.
The group added that even some Federal Government Colleges have shut down, leaving thousands of children out of school in some of Nigeria’s most vulnerable communities.
“These atrocities are not isolated tragedies. They are part of a systemic failure spanning over 11 years,” the letter stated.
The movement recalled Nigeria’s worst school abduction cases since 2014, including the kidnapping of 276 Chibok girls where 90 are still unaccounted for. It also listed the Dapchi, Kankara, Jangebe, Bethel Baptist and Kuriga attacks as part of a long chain of mass abductions that have left families traumatized and many victims still in illegal custody.
“These numbers are not statistics. They represent children robbed of their futures, families shattered and communities living in perpetual fear,” the group wrote.
“Many Chibok girls remain in captivity, forced into marriages with their abductors, subjected to sexual violence and denied basic human dignity.”
The letter criticised the failure of the Safe Schools Initiative and the Safe Schools Declaration despite billions of naira allocated since 2014. The group said “80 per cent of schools remain unsafe and only 37 per cent have early warning systems.”
Rejecting the practice of negotiating with kidnappers, BBOG Global declared, “STOP negotiating with terrorists. They are criminals. What other evidence do you need.”
While acknowledging steps taken by government agencies, including the deployment of the RightNow Female Squad of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other tactical units, the movement insisted that the measures are insufficient.
The group submitted five major demands to Tinubu. These include the immediate rescue of all abducted students and teachers, an end to negotiations with terrorists, full implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration with clear timelines, prosecution of officials linked to past failures and structured psychosocial support for survivors.
“This crisis has persisted for 11 years. It must end,” the group added. “The world is watching and history will judge the choices you make today.”
The letter was signed by prominent members and affiliates of the Bring Back Our Girls movement, including Opeyemi Adamolekun, Tehilah Eisenstadt, Habiba Balogun, Gapani Yanga, Nanre Nafziger, Allen Manasseh, Rose Wingate, Yolanda Preciados, Ayo Obe, Monday Ojon, Ayodeji Kolawole and Babasola Olalere.
The group ended its message with its signature call. “Bring Back Our Girls. All of them. End this cycle of abductions now. Enough is enough.”
