On the 21st of November 2025, The Federal Government ordered the immediate closure of 41 Federal Unity Colleges across the country.
This decision followed new intelligence indicating that bandits had targeted several schools for mass abduction.
The directive, contained in a circular marked FME/DSSE/GM/S.160/CII and signed by the Director of Senior Secondary Education, Hajia Binta Abdulkadir, on behalf of the Minister of Education Dr Tunji Alausa, instructed principals to “ensure total compliance and evacuate all students without further delay.”
The affected schools, mostly in the North-West, North-Central and North-East, were shut barely 24 hours after gunmen stormed communities in Kebbi and Niger states, raising fears of a new wave of school kidnappings.
A source told The Punch that: “The intelligence was specific and alarming. Some schools were already on the hit list. Government had no choice but to act fast.”
President Bola Tinubu, who cancelled a foreign trip to personally supervise the security response, chaired an emergency meeting of the National Security Council last night.
The 41 affected institutions cut across 14 states and the FCT:
North-West Zone
1. Federal Government Girls’ College, Minjibir (Kano)
2 Federal Technical College, Ganduje (Kano)
3 Federal Government Girls’ College, Zaria (Kaduna)
4 Federal Technical College, Kafanchan (Kaduna)
5 Federal Government College, Daura (Katsina)
6 Federal Government Girls’ College, Bakori (Katsina)
7 Federal Government Girls’ College, Tambuwal (Sokoto)
8 Federal Science College, Sokoto
9 Federal Technical College, Wurno (Sokoto)
10 Federal Government College, Gusau (Zamfara)
11 Federal Government College, Anka (Zamfara)
12 Federal Government Girls’ College, Gwandu (Kebbi)
13 Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri (Kebbi)
14 Federal Technical College, Zuru (Kebbi)
15 Federal Government Girls’ College, Kazaure (Jigawa)
16 Federal Government College, Kiyawa (Jigawa)
17 Federal Technical College, Hadejia (Jigawa)
North-Central Zone
18 Federal Government Girls’ College, Bida (Niger)
19 Federal Government College, New Bussa (Niger)
20 Federal Technical College, Kuta-Shiroro (Niger)
21 Federal Government Academy, Suleja (Niger)
22 Federal Government College, Ilorin (Kwara)
23 Federal Government Girls’ College, Omu-Aran (Kwara)
24 Federal Technical College, Gwanara (Kwara)
25 Federal Government College, Ugwolawo (Kogi)
26 Federal Government Girls’ College, Kabba (Kogi)
27 Federal Technical College, Ogugu (Kogi)
28 Federal Government Girls’ College, Bwari (FCT)
29 Federal Government College, Rubochi (FCT)
30 Federal Government Girls’ College, Abaji (FCT)
North-East Zone
31 Federal Government Girls’ College, Potiskum (Yobe)
32 Federal Government College, Buni Yadi (Yobe)
33 Federal Technical College, Gashua (Yobe)
34 Federal Technical College, Michika (Adamawa)
35 Federal Government College, Ganye (Adamawa)
36 Federal Government College, Azare (Bauchi)
37 Federal Technical College, Misau (Bauchi)
38 Federal Government Girls’ College, Bajoga (Gombe)
39 Federal Government College, Billiri (Gombe)
40 Federal Technical College, Zambuk (Gombe)
South-South
41 Federal Technical College, Dayi (Cross River)
On Friday evening, hundreds of parents besieged unity schools in Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto and the FCT to pick up their children.
The Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) described the closure as “a national embarrassment,” demanding immediate deployment of technology and troops to secure schools instead of shutting them.
The Ministry of Education has not given any timeline for resumption, saying only that “the safety of our children is non-negotiable.”
Administrator and Writer
