By Chinedum Anayo
The recent abduction of dozens of students and teachers in Oyo and Borno States has once again forced Nigeria to confront an uncomfortable truth: the constitutional right to life means little when citizens live under the constant shadow of fear.
For years, conversations about security in Nigeria have revolved around weapons, troop deployments, checkpoints, and military operations.
These measures are important. Yet the recurring spectacle of schoolchildren being kidnapped from places meant for learning demonstrates that the challenge before us extends beyond conventional security responses or mere intelligence reports.
The kidnappings in Oyo and Borno are not isolated incidents.
They are symptoms of a deeper crisis in which the state’s capacity to guarantee the safety of its citizens is repeatedly tested.
When parents send their children to school, they do so with the expectation that the government has created an environment where education can be pursued without fear.
Every successful attack on a school represents not only a security failure but also a failure of governance.
The right to life is not merely the right to remain alive.
It also encompasses the right to live with dignity, freedom, and reasonable security.
A child who cannot attend school because of fear of abduction is denied a meaningful component of that right. A teacher who enters a classroom uncertain whether he or she will return home safely experiences a similar deprivation.
The tragedy of these kidnappings also exposes the interconnected nature of human rights.
The right to education, the right to security, and the right to life are inseparable.
When one collapses, the others soon follow. Communities affected by persistent insecurity often experience declining school attendance, economic hardship, displacement, and psychological trauma.
The consequences outlive the headlines.
Nigeria’s response must therefore move beyond reactive measures.
While security agencies must continue pursuing perpetrators and rescuing victims, greater emphasis should be placed on prevention.
Intelligence gathering, community policing, technological surveillance, educational infrastructure protection, and socio-economic development must become central pillars of our national security architecture.
Equally important is accountability. Citizens deserve to know why attacks continue to occur despite repeated assurances. Governments at all levels must be willing to evaluate existing strategies honestly and implement reforms where necessary.
The Nigerian Constitution leaves little room for ambiguity regarding the state’s responsibility to protect its citizens.
Section 14(2)(b) expressly provides that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”
This constitutional mandate places the protection of lives and property at the heart of governance and serves as the benchmark against which government responses to insecurity must be measured.
That provision, combined with the right to life under Section 33 and the statutory duties imposed on security agencies by the Police Act and other security legislation, creates a clear legal framework assigning primary responsibility for citizens’ security to the government.
The kidnappings in Oyo and Borno should not be viewed merely as criminal incidents.
They are a reminder that the right to life remains fragile when institutions are unable to provide consistent protection.
Until every Nigerian child can attend school without fear and every parent can trust that their loved ones will return home safely, our commitment to the right to life will remain incomplete.
The ultimate measure of a nation’s security is not the number of armed personnel on its streets but the confidence of its citizens that their lives, liberties, and futures are protected.
On that measure, the recent events in Oyo and Borno remind us that much work remains to be done.
