Yobe State government announced the reopening of all boarding secondary schools on January 5, 2026, reversing November 23 closures triggered by nationwide bandit abductions like Niger's 315-student horror and Kebbi's 24 schoolgirls snatch. Governor Mai Mala Buni's decision follows security improvements, urging parents to ensure compliance while vigilance persists against north's school raids.
Boarding schools shuttered post-Niger Catholic massacre and Kebbi raids that saw FG close 41 unity schools, with Yobe joining Katsina, Plateau, and Kwara in panic shutdowns amid Tinubu's rescue pledges. Six weeks later, Buni deems threats contained, eyeing lost learning amid 10m+ out-of-school crisis paralleling UNICEF's Katsina pleas.
Permanent Secretary Bukar Bukar cited enhanced intel and ops, but CAN's Rev. Hayab warns bloodlust drives attacks beyond ransoms, echoing Edo twins' tragedy and Abuja's waste-fueled disease fears. Stakeholders fear prolonged closures fuel banditry recruitment as Super Eagles train uninterrupted.
Reopening tests fragile calm post-US airstrikes scattering IS suspects to Ondo forests, with Yobe's move contrasting Katsina's Red Cross malnutrition surge and Obi-Abaribe's ADC pivot. Parents brace for risks as Nigeria's north battles classroom battlegrounds into 2026.