The Federal Government has ordered the closure of 41 Federal Unity Colleges across several regions of the country, citing growing threats to the safety of students and staff.
The directive was issued on Friday through an internal memo from the Federal Ministry of Education and endorsed by the Minister, Tunji Alausa.
The ministry said the decision follows a fresh wave of violent attacks on schools and intelligence reports warning of potential breaches.
According to the circular, school heads in the affected institutions have been instructed to immediately suspend academic activities and evacuate students until the security situation improves.
The schools spanned states in the North-West, North-East, North-Central and selected southern areas regarded as vulnerable.
The shutdown comes in the wake of multiple abductions targeting learning centres.
In Niger State, armed men invaded St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School in Papiri, seizing several pupils after overwhelming the community on dozens of motorcycles.
The school’s security guard was shot and seriously injured during the attack.
Earlier in the week, 25 girls were reportedly taken from a school in the Maga area of Kebbi State, intensifying concerns about the safety of students in the region.
Panic further spread after claims of another kidnapping in Nasarawa State, though police authorities later dismissed the report as false.
President Bola Tinubu, in response to the rising tension, ordered the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to relocate to Kebbi to oversee rescue operations.
The President also suspended his planned international trips as the crisis deepened.
Nigeria has grappled with school abductions for more than a decade, most famously beginning with the Chibok incident in 2014.
Despite repeated condemnations from global agencies including UNICEF, mass kidnappings continue to disrupt education, particularly in the northern states.
The list of institutions directed to close includes girls’ colleges, federal colleges of science, and technical colleges spread across Sokoto, Zamfara, Kaduna, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Kogi, Abuja, Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe and other states.
The Ministry said the move is a temporary precaution to safeguard students, stressing that the government is coordinating with security agencies to restore order.
