Tinubu Reaffirms Commitment to Child Safety, Orders Intensified Rescue Operations for Abducted Pupils
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has pledged intensified national security operations to secure the release of abducted schoolchildren and their teachers, assuring affected families that the government remains fully committed to their safe return.
In a Children’s Day address delivered on Wednesday, the President said children and educators currently in captivity in parts of Oyo and Borno States are “not forgotten” and vowed that security agencies will continue coordinated efforts until they are rescued.
“As we mark this special day, 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.”
The President said the government would not reduce the pain of affected families to ceremonial statements, stressing that security operations would remain intelligence-driven and focused on the safe recovery of abducted citizens.
He directed all relevant security agencies to intensify coordinated rescue missions for kidnapped children and other vulnerable groups across the country.
“These operations must be intelligence-led, carefully executed and focused on the safe recovery of our children,” he said.
Tinubu also announced expanded measures to strengthen school security, including updated vulnerability mapping of schools in high-risk areas, improved coordination between state governments and security agencies, and faster emergency response systems linking schools to local security units.
According to him, the Federal Ministry of Education, in collaboration with state authorities, has been instructed to strengthen the implementation of the Safe Schools framework, with clearer reporting structures, defined responsibilities, and strict timelines for response mechanisms.
“Every school in a vulnerable area must know who to call, what to do, where to move, and how to protect children when danger is identified,” the President said.
He added that government efforts will also focus on the rehabilitation and reintegration of rescued victims, noting that recovery from abduction must include access to counselling, healthcare, education, and psychosocial support.
“A child who returns from trauma must return to care, medical attention, counselling, education and dignity,” he said.
Tinubu further called for a whole-of-society approach to child protection, urging parents, community leaders, religious institutions, transport unions, vigilante groups, and the media to play active roles in preventing attacks on schools and reporting suspicious activity.
“When a community sees strange movement around a school and keeps quiet, a child is placed at risk,” he warned. “The fight to protect children must begin before an attack happens, not after one has already occurred.”
The President used the occasion to reaffirm his administration’s broader commitment to child welfare, including investments in education, healthcare, nutrition, social protection, and digital skills development.
“Our administration remains committed to a Nigeria where every child can learn safely, grow in good health, eat well, access opportunity and dream without fear,” he said.
This year’s Children’s Day theme, “Future Now: Promoting Inclusion for Every Nigerian Child,” underscores what the President described as the urgency of safeguarding children’s rights and ensuring equal access to opportunity.
Tinubu concluded by assuring Nigerian children that their safety and future remain a national priority.
“To our children, you matter—your dreams matter; your safety matters; your education matters,” he said. “Be assured that your future matters to this government and to this nation, and we will safeguard it.”
