Gunmen invaded Government Secondary School, Olowa (also referred to as Odo-Ekina in some reports), in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State on Tuesday, dragging away the school principal, four students and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member while the students were sitting for their ongoing NECO examination.
The Kogi State Police Command confirmed the attack in a statement issued on Wednesday by its spokesperson, ASP Salisu Oyiza. The attack happened around 5:25 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, while candidates were writing their exam. The armed attackers seized the principal, one NECO ad hoc official and four students before fleeing.
Security agencies have since launched a search-and-rescue operation. A combined team of police and other security agencies is currently on the trail of the attackers, and one of the abducted students has already been rescued, while efforts continue to secure the release of the remaining victims and to arrest those responsible.
Why This Attack Fits a Painful Pattern (Recent History of School Raids in Kogi)
This is not the first time gunmen have targeted a school in Kogi State. On June 10, 2026, suspected bandits riding about 40 motorcycles invaded Government Secondary School, Iluke Bunu, in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area, while students were writing their WASSCE (West African Senior School Certificate Examination). Three people were killed in that attack, including the school’s vice principal, Mr Ganiyu Anifowose, an elderly resident, and a six-year-old child. Kogi authorities later said security forces killed the suspected mastermind of that attack.
Beyond Kogi, school abductions have become a recurring nightmare across northern and central Nigeria in recent years, with gunmen repeatedly exploiting the vulnerability of rural schools, especially during exam periods when large numbers of students and staff are gathered in one place.
What Is Driving These Attacks (Causes) and Who Pays the Price (Effects)
Several factors keep making schools easy targets for armed groups:
- Weak security around rural schools: Many schools in remote parts of Kogi and similar states have little to no security presence, especially in the evening hours.
- Exam periods create predictable, high-value targets: Gunmen know exactly when and where large groups of students and staff will be gathered, making exam days especially dangerous.
- Porous, hard-to-monitor terrain: Criminal groups often exploit forests and cross-border routes between states to strike and disappear quickly.
- Ransom incentives: Kidnapping for ransom has become a lucrative criminal enterprise in parts of Nigeria, encouraging repeat attacks.
The effects go far beyond the immediate victims. Families are left in agony, communities lose trust in the safety of local schools, and students already sitting for high-stakes exams face added trauma on top of academic pressure. Repeated attacks like this also threaten to disrupt the national examination calendar and discourage school attendance in affected areas.
What Can Be Done to Stop School Attacks (Possible Solutions)
- Deploy visible security during exam periods: Police and other security agencies should station personnel at examination centres, particularly in high-risk local government areas, for the full duration of exams.
- Strengthen intelligence-sharing across state lines: Kogi and neighbouring Benue recently launched a joint policing initiative to track criminals who cross state borders; this kind of cooperation needs to be expanded and sustained.
- Invest in rural school security infrastructure: Fencing, lighting, and rapid-response communication links between schools and the nearest police division can reduce response time during an attack.
- Community vigilance networks: Local vigilante groups, working alongside police, have helped rescue students in past incidents and should be better resourced and coordinated.
- Swift prosecution of captured perpetrators: Visible consequences for those caught can serve as a deterrent against future attacks.
My Thoughts
It is heartbreaking that Nigerian students cannot sit for a national exam without fearing for their lives. A principal and four students who did nothing more than show up to write NECO are now in the hands of armed men, and a NECO official sent to do his job is also missing. This is the second major school attack in Kogi State in just over a month, which tells me that the measures taken after the Iluke Bunu attack in June were not enough to prevent a repeat. Every day these victims remain missing is a day too many. I hope security agencies move fast, and I hope the state and federal governments treat the safety of schools, especially during exams, as a non-negotiable priority rather than a reaction to the last tragedy.
Published by Ejoh Caleb
