“I didn’t go to school that Wednesday because I was sick, but my heart was beating fast for my mother to go and pick up my younger brother,” said Fatima Erena, a pupil, while recalling the unforgettable events of Wednesday 10 June, 2026.
Across parts of Minna that day, panic spread after reports circulated that bandits had attacked schools in the metropolis and abducted pupils.
Although security agencies later debunked the reports, the fear they generated was real.
Parents abandoned work and household chores, while children cried and teachers struggled to calm frightened pupils as rumours travelled faster than facts.
What happened in Minna was not an isolated incident.
From Niger to Edo, Enugu, Lagos, Ogun and Imo states, as well as Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, reports of school attacks, kidnap threats and unverified security alerts have increasingly triggered anxiety among parents and disrupted learning.
The incidents highlight a growing reality in Nigeria’s education sector: even where no attack occurs, rumours of school kidnappings are creating real panic, disrupting learning and exposing deep fears among parents and children.
The rumours spread through communities in Bosso, and Kpakungu in Minna as well as Sabon-Wuse in Tsfa local government and Lambata in Gujarat local government, where unverified reports of alleged school attacks triggered panic among parents, pupils and school authorities.
According to pupils who spoke with DAILY POST, teachers informed students of the situation between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.
What followed was confusion as children ran in different directions, while
