UNICEF has expressed its outrage at the brutal killing of school children, aged between 13 and 17 years old, by unidentified gunmen at the Federal Government College of Buni Yadi, Yobe State, Nigeria.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms this vicious attack on students,” UNICEF’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa Manuel Fontaine said.
“Many young lives were lost. Many more students and teachers are deprived of their right to education. Attacks on children and schools are unacceptable under any circumstances.”
UNICEF is deeply concerned about repeated attacks on schools in northeast Nigeria in this context of fear and violence. Since June 2013, four attacks resulted in school closures affecting thousands of students, many of whom have had no access to formal learning for months.
“When a school is under attack and students become targets, not only their lives are shattered, the future of the nation is stolen,” Fontaine said.
UNICEF offers it deepest condolences to all the families and communities affected by these senseless acts and calls for greater efforts to protect all children throughout Nigeria.
Source: UNICEF Australia
