Exams Under Siege: How Kidnappers Turned a NECO Centre into a Crime Scene
By Matthew Eloyi
What should have been an ordinary examination day for students sitting the National Examinations Council (NECO) examination in Kogi State ended in fear, chaos and uncertainty after armed men stormed a secondary school in Dekina Local Government Area, abducting students, a school principal and an examination official.
The attack has once again exposed the growing insecurity surrounding Nigeria’s education sector, where schools—once regarded as safe havens for learning—are increasingly becoming soft targets for criminal gangs seeking ransom.
According to the Kogi State Police Command, the gunmen struck at about 5:25 p.m. on Tuesday while candidates were still writing their NECO examination. In the confusion that followed, the assailants whisked away six people: four students, the school principal and a NECO ad-hoc staff member.
The incident has reignited concerns over the safety of students taking public examinations, particularly in communities vulnerable to kidnapping and armed attacks. For many parents, the expectation that children would return home after an important national examination has instead given way to anxious hours of waiting and uncertainty.
In a statement issued in Lokoja on Wednesday, the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Afusat Saliu, disclosed that security agencies responded swiftly to the distress call, launching a coordinated operation to rescue the victims and apprehend the attackers.
She revealed that security operatives had already recorded an early breakthrough with the rescue of one of the abducted students.
“So far, one of the abducted students has been rescued. Efforts are ongoing to secure the safe rescue of the remaining victims and apprehend the perpetrators,” she said.
The police spokesperson said personnel drawn from the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies had intensified the search for the kidnappers, expressing confidence that the remaining captives would be rescued safely.
The gravity of the attack prompted an immediate response from the state’s top security leadership. Saliu disclosed that the Commissioner of Police in Kogi State, Naziru Kankarofi, the Commander of the 12 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Brig.-Gen. Kasim Sidi, and the Security Adviser to the Governor, retired Commander Jerry Omadara, were all heading to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.
Their visit underscores the seriousness with which the authorities are treating an attack that has once again brought national attention to the vulnerability of schools in parts of the country affected by criminal violence.
While assuring residents that every available resource had been deployed to secure the release of those still in captivity, the police appealed for calm, promising that more information would be released as investigations progress.
The incident adds to a disturbing pattern of attacks on educational institutions across Nigeria in recent years. Although government security interventions have reduced the frequency of mass school abductions in some areas, Tuesday’s attack serves as a stark reminder that students and education workers continue to face significant risks while pursuing learning.
For education stakeholders, the latest abduction raises difficult questions about the adequacy of security arrangements during nationwide examinations, when schools often remain open late into the evening and become more exposed to criminal elements.
As security forces intensify the search for the kidnappers, families of the remaining victims continue to hope that what began as an important milestone in their children’s academic journey will not become another tragic chapter in Nigeria’s long-running battle against insecurity.
