Nigeria Student Abductions, State Police Push

Within a 24-hour period, 87 students and teachers were abducted in two separate incidents in Nigeria. Suspected gunmen abducted 45 students and teachers from schools in the Oriire Local Government Area of Nigeria — Oyo State, while Boko Haram terrorists abducted 42 students from Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Nigeria — Borno State. The Nigeria — Senate of Nigeria, led by Opeyemi Bamidele, condemned these abductions as an attack on Nigeria's future and educational stability. In response, the Nigeria — National Assembly (Nigeria) is accelerating efforts to amend the 1999 Constitution to establish state police and is also working on reforms to the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. Opeyemi Bamidele also urged the implementation of the Safe School Initiative as an interim measure to address the growing number of out-of-school children, currently estimated at 18.3 million nationwide.