US Senator Jim Risch, representing Idaho and chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has sharply criticized the Nigerian government for what he described as its longstanding failure to protect schoolchildren from jihadist and criminal kidnappers.
In a post on X, Risch said Nigerian students — especially schoolgirls — continue to face “heightened risk of enslavement, forced conversion, and ransom,” insisting that little has improved over the years.
“Nigeria has long failed to protect its schoolchildren from jihadist and criminal abductions, and little has changed,” he wrote. “As the U.S. engages the Nigerian government on the persecution of its most vulnerable citizens, we will continue to hold them accountable.”
His remarks follow a fresh wave of attacks in the country.
On Monday, heavily armed attackers stormed Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, abducting 25 female students. The school’s vice principal, Hassan Makuku, was killed in the raid, while a security guard, Ali Shehu, suffered gunshot wounds to his hand.
Kebbi police spokesperson, Nafi’u Abubakar Kotarkoshi, confirmed that the assailants were equipped with “sophisticated weapons.”
President Bola Tinubu condemned the incident, noting that the attack took place despite earlier intelligence warnings about possible bandit activity. He urged communities in vulnerable areas to provide timely information to security agencies, including the military, police, and the DSS, to help prevent such tragedies.
The criticism from Washington comes amid renewed tension in US–Nigeria relations. Former US President Donald Trump recently threatened military action if the Nigerian government “continues to allow the killing of Christians,” a claim the Tinubu administration has repeatedly dismissed as inaccurate and unfair.
The federal government maintains that there is no official policy targeting Christians and argues that all Nigerians — regardless of faith — are victims of widespread insecurity driven by banditry, terrorism, and criminal networks.