Protests were organized across Nigeria on Tuesday, including in Lagos, Ibadan and in the northeast in Maiduguri, to denounce a series of kidnappings of schoolchildren and educational staff.

The protesters are demanding an urgent increase in security in schools, in a context marked by the persistence of armed attacks.

In Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, the secretary of the Nigerian Teachers' Union, Yusuf Tom, delivered a letter to local authorities calling for strengthened protective measures. He stressed the need to guarantee a safe environment to allow for the continuity of education.

Meanwhile, Musa Umar Chiroma, a representative of the Nigerian Labour Congress, denounced the surge in kidnappings in the Askira Mossa region, where approximately 28 students and teachers were recently abducted. He criticized the authorities' inaction in the face of what he described as a "serious violation of the fundamental right to education."

In Ibadan, protesters held up signs saying that "abduction has no place in education," while in Lagos, processions marched to the local assembly headquarters to demand the release of students still being held.

According to Hassan Taiwo of the Education Rights Campaign, "education is under siege" in the country, due to a surge in attacks targeting schools, students and teachers.

The violence is occurring against a backdrop of already deteriorating security: on May 15, at least 46 students and staff members were abducted in Oyo State, in the southwest, while approximately 42 people were kidnapped the same day in the northeast, particularly in Borno State. These attacks are often attributed to armed groups operating in the region, including Boko Haram.

The teachers' union in Oyo State has launched an indefinite strike since Monday, although a national movement is not being considered at this stage.

The abduction of schoolchildren remains one of the major security challenges for Nigerian authorities, in a country that has been facing persistent violence in the north for more than fifteen years.