Nigeria Shutters 41 Federal Unity Colleges Amid Escalating Security Crisis
[Suggested image placeholder: A closed gate of a Nigerian secondary school]
The Nigerian Federal Government has ordered the immediate closure of 41 federally-run secondary schools across the country, a drastic measure responding to a surge in mass abductions of students and severe security threats.
In a directive issued on November 21, 2025, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, mandated the shutdown of the affected Unity Colleges, citing “recent security challenges” and the imperative to prevent security breaches. The circular, signed by Hajia Abdulkadir, Director of Senior Secondary Education, instructed principals to ensure strict and immediate compliance.
Nationwide Scope of School Closures
The 41 institutions slated for closure are spread across multiple regions, including the North-West, North-East, North-Central, and parts of the South. This geographic spread underscores the national scale of the security challenges facing educational institutions.
The list of affected schools includes FGGC Minjibir, FGC Gusau, FGC Daura, FSC Sokoto, FGGC Bwari, FGC Ganye, and dozens of others, indicating that no single region has been spared from the government’s preemptive action.
Context of a Deepening Security Emergency
This sweeping decision arrives against a backdrop of renewed, brazen attacks on learning institutions. The government’s move follows two recent high-profile incidents that have reignited national trauma over student safety.
In Niger State, assailants on more than 60 motorcycles attacked St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, abducting an unspecified number of students and seriously injuring the school’s gatekeeper. Just prior to this, attackers seized 25 schoolgirls during an assault on a school in Maga town, Kebbi State.
Analysis: A Recurring National Crisis
The closure of Unity Colleges represents a significant escalation in the government’s response to a persistent crisis. Federal Unity Colleges were established post-civil war to foster national integration by bringing students from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds together. Their targeted closure signals a profound disruption to a key nation-building project.
This is not an isolated policy but part of a tragic pattern. Mass kidnappings from schools in northern Nigeria first gained global notoriety with the 2014 Chibok abduction, where Boko Haram militants kidnapped 276 schoolgirls. A decade later, the phenomenon has evolved, with criminal gangs, often referred to as bandits, frequently targeting schools for ransom.
The economic and social impact of these closures is immense. They disrupt the education of thousands of students, create psychological distress, and force families into impossible choices between their children’s safety and their future.
While the immediate closure may protect students from physical harm in the short term, it highlights the government’s struggle to secure vast rural areas and protect its most vulnerable citizens. The move raises critical questions about the long-term strategy for safely resuming education in regions plagued by instability and the broader implications for Nigeria’s human capital development.
Source: https://businessday.ng/news/article/insecurity-fg-closes-41-unity-colleges/