Authorities in central Nigeria have shut schools in five districts of Kwara state, fearing they could become targets for armed gangs after a deadly attack on a church earlier this week, officials said on Thursday.
Nigeria is grappling with a surge in raids by gunmen, including Monday’s abduction of 25 schoolgirls from a boarding school in northwestern Kebbi state, intensifying concern over insecurity and forcing President Bola Tinubu to delay foreign travel plans.
Kwara state education commissioner Lawal Olohungbebe said the government was acting to prevent kidnappers from turning pupils into bargaining chips.
“The government is determined to curtail the activities of kidnappers who may want to use schoolchildren as human shields,” he said in a statement.
Schools in the affected districts will remain closed until security agencies declare it safe for classes to resume, he added.
On Tuesday evening, gunmen attacked a church in Kwara, which borders Benin, killing at least two people and kidnapping the pastor along with several worshippers.
Nigeria has come under renewed scrutiny from U.S. President Donald Trump, who in early November threatened possible military action over what he described as the treatment of Christians in the country.
Abuja says claims of Christian persecution oversimplify a complex security crisis and overlook steps taken to protect religious freedom. Tinubu has sent a delegation led by the national security adviser to meet U.S. lawmakers and officials to explain the government’s position.