A coalition of prominent Northern women under the banner of Voices for Inclusion and Equity for Women (VIEW) has condemned the abduction of 25 schoolgirls from Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State, describing the incident as “a brutal indictment of Nigeria’s leadership and humanity.”
The group, in a strongly worded statement co-signed by leading activists including Asmau Joda, Maryam Uwais, Mairo Mandara, Aisha Oyebode, Fatima Akilu, Kadaria Ahmed, Larai Ocheja Amusan and Ier Jonathan-Ichaver, said the weekend attack once again exposed the vulnerability of girls in Northern Nigeria despite years of promises and heavy investments in the Safe Schools Initiative.
Gunmen had invaded the school at dawn, killed the Vice Principal, and whisked away 25 students—an incident VIEW said mirrors the painful memories of Chibok, Dapchi, Jangebe and many other mass kidnappings that never received national attention.
“This is not simply another security incident,” the group said. “It is a brutal indictment of the Nigerian State’s failure to protect its most vulnerable citizens.”
VIEW faulted what it described as persistent leadership failure in the North, noting that despite more than a decade of mass school abductions, nothing has changed.
“After Chibok, after Dapchi, after Jangebe — and after countless smaller abductions — we are reliving the same nightmare,” the group lamented.
The coalition accused elected officials, security agencies and community leaders of neglecting their duty to safeguard schoolchildren.
“Where are the governors, the senators, and the community leaders who should be standing between our children and danger?” they asked.
The women also questioned whether the repeated attacks reflect a deliberate or negligent attempt to keep Northern girls uneducated and powerless.
“The question haunting every mother in Northern Nigeria today is: Is this part of a plan — intentional or through neglect — to keep northern girls uneducated, silent, and powerless?”
VIEW demanded coordinated, intelligence-driven rescue operations and daily public updates on efforts to recover the girls.
They called directly on the President, First Lady, Kebbi State Governor, Northern Governors’ Forum, Northern Senators Forum, Arewa House of Reps Caucus, Arewa Consultative Forum, and heads of all security agencies — particularly the NSA, Chief of Defence Staff and Inspector-General of Police — to “stand up and be counted.”
“This is not a moment for silence. This is not a moment for excuses,” the group warned.
“The abduction of the Maga girls must be treated as a national emergency — not a political talking point or a tragedy to be absorbed into Nigeria’s growing archive of grief.”
VIEW said women across the region are exhausted from constant mourning and repeated government failures.
“Northern women are tired of mourning, tired of pleading, tired of burying children while those in power offer condolences instead of solutions,” the statement added.
The group insisted that the rescue of the Maga schoolgirls is a defining test of national leadership.
“No nation can claim to value its future while abandoning its daughters to violence,” VIEW said. “Their return is a test of our leadership — and our humanity.”
Voices for Inclusion and Equity for Women (VIEW) is a coalition of women advocates from North Central, Northeast and Northwest Nigeria dedicated to promoting justice, equity and inclusion for women.
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