The Secretary General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Reverend Father Michael Banjo, has expressed strong concern over the rising number of abduction incidents targeting pupils and teachers in schools across the country. He lamented that schools, which should be safe havens for learning, formation, and protection, are increasingly becoming places of fear, trauma, and vulnerability.
Capacity Building Workshop Addresses Security and Safeguarding
Speaking at a capacity building workshop for Catholic schools and teachers organized by the Department of Church and Society, Education Unit of the CSN in Abuja, Banjo emphasized that when children are taken from their classrooms and teachers are kidnapped while performing their duties, the dignity of the human person is severely assaulted. He noted that this situation has caused parents to fear sending their children to school, disrupting the right to education and undermining the mission of safeguarding minors and vulnerable persons.
Banjo called on the government and all security agencies to act urgently to secure the safe and speedy release of all those still in captivity and to restore confidence in the safety of schools and communities. He also prayed for the safe return of abducted pupils and teachers and for the peaceful repose of the soul of Mr. Michael Oyedokun and others who have died in similar circumstances across the nation.
Catholic Social Teaching and Safeguarding
Banjo stated that the theme of the training, “Catholic Social Teaching and Safeguarding of Minors and Vulnerable Persons,” is both timely and urgent. He stressed that Nigerian society has witnessed a steady erosion of respect for human dignity, particularly in the treatment of minors and vulnerable persons. He highlighted troubling issues such as bullying, excessive corporal punishment, sexual harassment and abuse, misuse of phones and social media to bully or expose children to harmful content, discrimination based on poverty or disability, and situations where warning signs are ignored until lives are deeply damaged.
Banjo emphasized that Catholic social teaching and safeguarding must go together to affirm the dignity of every person, protect the vulnerable, and ensure that every Catholic school becomes a true sanctuary of faith, learning, and love. He warned that Catholic educators cannot afford to be silent, passive, or ill-equipped in the face of these realities, noting that a Catholic school is more than an academic institution; it is a place where faith is deepened, consciences are formed, values are nurtured, and future leaders are prepared.
He said, “We must reject silence, negligence, and indifference in the face of abuse, and we must promote safe, trusted, and accountable school environments where children are heard, guided, protected, and valued. Safeguarding must move from principle to practice, rooted in the core values of Catholic social teaching: the dignity of the human person, the common good, justice, solidarity, truth, and preferential care for the vulnerable. In the Nigerian context, this means that every Catholic school must consciously form children, not only to pass examinations but to become persons of conscience and integrity. We must reject cheating, bullying, buying of examination questions, and every form of examination malpractice, and we must promote honesty, hard work, and respect for truth.”
Bishop Calls for Safe Learning Environments
Also speaking, the Catholic Bishop of Lafia and Chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) Education Committee, Most Reverend David Ajang, noted that the Catholic Church has consistently emphasized the dignity of every human person as created in the image and likeness of God. He stated that education is not only about intellectual development but about promoting justice, peace, solidarity, responsibility, and care for the vulnerable. Ajang noted that every child entrusted to Catholic care must experience safety, respect, protection, and genuine Christian love, and expressed the Church’s commitment to creating learning environments where children can flourish spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, and physically without fear of abuse or neglect.
He observed that the workshop comes at a critical time in the life of the nation, its schools, and the global Church. “Today, more than ever, Catholic education must remain faithful to its mission of forming the human person in knowledge, character, faith, and moral responsibility. Our schools are not merely centers for academic excellence,” he said.
Apostolic Nuncio Urges Protection from All Forms of Abuse
The Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, Most Reverend Michael Francis Crotty, stated that schools must protect children not only from physical abuse but also from exploitation, exclusion, hunger, emotional neglect, and unsafe learning conditions. He urged Catholic educators in Nigeria to resist any culture that normalizes violence against children and any policy that promotes violence in the community, stressing that a Catholic school should be a place where children feel secure emotionally, spiritually, physically, and digitally.
Crotty lamented that many children in Nigeria face poverty, displacement, insecurity, and unequal access to quality education, and called on Catholic schools to stand with vulnerable families and ensure inclusion. He said, “Teachers and administrators are expected to create environments where children can speak freely and report harm without fear. This is especially important in Nigeria, where children may face domestic violence, exploitation, trafficking, cultism, online abuse, corporal punishment, humiliation, emotional intimidation, or exploitative relationships that contradict Catholic educational values.”
Call for Government Action
In his remarks, the CSN Episcopal Secretary for Education, Reverend Father Dominic Umoh, called on the federal government to take concrete steps to create secure environments in schools across the country. Umoh described the recent abduction of pupils and teachers, and the killing of one teacher by abductors, as a sad experience for the education community. He noted that most Catholic schools are located within church premises to guarantee safety, adding that the Church is training teachers and pupils to be security conscious.
