FCTA orders shut shutdown of secondary schools in Abuja over security threats

Abdullateef Fowewe

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has instructed all public senior secondary schools in Abuja to shut down on or before Friday, November 28, citing urgent security concerns.

In a statement on Tuesday titled “URGENT NEED FOR EARLY CLOSURE OF SCHOOLS DUE TO SECURITY CONCERNS,” issued by Aishatu Sani Alhassan, director of school services at the FCT Secondary Education Board, schools were directed to end academic activities immediately and ensure students are dismissed “in an orderly and safe manner”.

The memo further requires schools to notify learners, staff, and parents, reschedule academic activities accordingly, and prepare to resume on the next official school day unless further instructions are issued.

The notice was emphasised as “important and urgent” for all school authorities to act on.

This measure follows a troubling rise in attacks on educational institutions across Nigeria, including the recent abductions of 25 female students from Government Girls Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, on November 12 and the abduction of over 300 students and teachers from St. Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger State, on November 21.

The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora reported 315 people abducted from the latter school.