Nigeria’s Children’s Day celebrations were overshadowed by grief as over 80 children abducted from schools in Oyo and Borno states remain missing amid rising insecurity
Today, May 27, 2026, Nigerian children should be filling school compounds with laughter, waving colourful flags, and celebrating the innocence that defines childhood.
Streets should echo with songs, cheers and dreams of brighter tomorrows. But across parts of Oyo and Borno states, sorrow hangs heavily in the air.
While the country marks Children’s Day, more than 80 children remain in captivity, snatched from their schools barely 12 days ago.
Their absence is a painful reminder of a nation struggling to protect its most vulnerable. How can a country celebrate its children when so many are missing, hidden away in forests by men driven by cruelty and terror?
On May 15, tragedy struck in two different corners of Nigeria on the same day.
In Oyo State, gunmen stormed communities in Ahoro Esinele and Oriire Local Government Area, invading Community High School, Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and another nearby primary school.
Witnesses said the attackers arrived on motorcycles and abducted dozens of pupils, teachers and residents.
Among those taken were toddlers barely old enough to understand what was happening. The horror deepened when reports emerged that a teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded in captivity, while another school headmaster, Joel Adesiyan, was killed while attempting to escape.
These children were not combatants. They were pupils carrying school bags, crayons and exercise books.
Some, like two-year-old Christianah Akanbi, should have been learning nursery rhymes and the alphabet, not surviving in fear among armed abductors.
Their parents now live in endless anxiety, clinging to phones and praying for any news that might bring hope.
The kidnappers have reportedly demanded ransom, while security agencies continue rescue efforts involving soldiers, police operatives, local hunters and aerial surveillance. Yet the painful truth remains: the children are still missing.
Far away in Borno State, the nightmare repeated itself.
In Mussa town, Askira-Uba Local Government Area, suspected Boko Haram or ISWAP fighters raided schools shortly after soldiers reportedly left the area. More than 40 children were abducted, many between the ages of two and five.
Witnesses said the attackers used some of the younger children as shields while fleeing on motorcycles. Older pupils escaped into surrounding bushes, but the youngest victims, too frightened and too little to run, were carried away.
Schools were shut down as fear spread through the community, while officials confirmed dozens of children remain unaccounted for.
The images are heartbreaking to imagine.
Tiny hands stretched out toward helpless parents. Children too young to fully understand why they had been taken from home. Nights spent in fear, hunger and uncertainty, far away from the comfort and safety every child deserves. Their future remains uncertain.
Nigeria has seen this painful story before: the Chibok schoolgirls, many of whom are still missing years later; Leah Sharibu, still in captivity since 2018; and countless other children whose lives have been permanently scarred by violence and abduction.
For many families in Oyo and Borno, this Children’s Day is not a moment of celebration but a day of grief, prayers and quiet despair.
Some communities cancelled celebrations entirely in solidarity with the abducted children and their families.
Across social media and radio platforms, anguished voices continue to ask the same question: what exactly is there to celebrate when children are still being stolen from classrooms?
This goes beyond a security lapse. It is a national tragedy and a moral failure.
Schools, once regarded as safe spaces for learning and hope, are increasingly becoming targets for terror and criminality. Every child abducted is a painful blow to the conscience of the nation. Behind every statistic is a name, a dream, a future interrupted.
These children are more than numbers in news reports. They are sons, daughters, classmates and future leaders. They deserve more than sympathy and official statements.
Nigerians deserve decisive action that genuinely protects schools, strengthens intelligence gathering and tackles the root causes of insecurity. Promises alone cannot comfort parents staring at empty beds and abandoned school uniforms.
To the families in Oyo and Borno, your pain is not unseen. The nation must not forget your children.
On this Children’s Day, perhaps the loudest message Nigeria can send is not celebration, but a collective demand for justice, protection and urgent rescue efforts.
Until every abducted child returns home safely, the joy of this day remains painfully incomplete.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
