In an attempt to recreate the global #BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) campaign that trailed the 2014 abduction of 276 Chibok girls from the Government Girls Secondary School in Borno State, many Nigerians, especially celebrities, yesterday rejected the goodwill messages by the Federal Government and demanded immediate action over the abduction of 42 schoolchildren in Oyo State and another 42 pupils earlier kidnapped in Borno State.

Using the hashtag #BringBackOurStudents, the celebrities lamented the worsening insecurity in the country and questioned the safety of children and citizens.

As Nigeria marked the 2026 Children’s Day celebration on Wednesday, many citizens spared a thought for pupils and teachers of three schools in Ori Ire Local Government Area of Oyo State who were kidnapped on May 15 and were spending their second week with the abductors on a day the rest of the country was celebrating Sallah.

In his message to mark the day, President Bola Tinubu assured Nigerians grieving for their abducted children that his administration has intensified rescue operations, strengthened school protections, and provided comprehensive care for survivors.

The President told the children in captivity that the government has neither abandoned nor forgotten them, as directives have been issued to the security agencies for their safe rescue.

“As a father and your President: you are not forgotten. You are not abandoned,” Mr Tinubu said, speaking directly to children, parents and teachers still held in captivity in Oyo, Borno and other affected states. He acknowledged the national pain: “Some children have been forced into fear. Some parents cannot join today’s celebration because their hearts are set on one prayer: ‘Bring our children home.’”

With the Children’s Day theme, “Future Now: Promoting Inclusion for Every Nigerian Child,” as his backdrop, the president framed the crisis as both a moral failure and an urgent security priority.

“To the families grieving and despondent, your government will not turn your pain into ceremony. We will continue to work until children taken from their homes, schools and communities are returned safely, and until those who profit from this cruelty are brought to justice,” he declared.

The President then ordered all relevant security agencies to “sustain and intensify coordinated rescue operations” that are intelligence-led and focused on recovering children safely.

Speaking after performing the Eid congregational prayers at Dodan Barracks in Lagos yesterday, President Tinubu called on Nigerians to embrace the values of tolerance, generosity, and peaceful coexistence and urged citizens to reject ethnic divisions, hatred, and all forms of conduct that undermine national unity.

“We thank Almighty Allah for making us witness another year of Eid-el-Kabir. We thank Him for His mercy, and we must learn from this season’s lessons, namely, showing love to one another. No discrimination, no ethnicity, no hatred; we should share love and be generous to one another in a way that reflects the values of our country and humanity,” the President said.

The President also condemned violent extremism, stressing that banditry is inconsistent with Islamic teachings. “Nowhere in the holy teachings does it say you should engage in banditry or take a human life. The sacrifice we speak of… teaches us that a child was replaced with an animal. That is the value placed on human life,” he said.

Offering the same words of reassurance, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, on Wednesday, said the state government was working around the clock in collaboration with security agencies to secure the release of students abducted from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of the state. Makinde said all necessary security machinery had been activated to ensure the safe return of the victims and reunite them with their families as quickly as possible.

The governor gave the assurance while speaking with journalists after receiving a Sallah delegation from the Muslim community led by the Deputy Governor, Bayo Lawal, at his private residence in Ikolaba, Ibadan. The delegation, which included top government officials and Islamic leaders, had earlier observed Eid-el-Adha prayers at the Agodi Eid ground.

Makinde expressed concern over the abduction, describing the incident as painful, but urged residents to remain calm and hopeful as security operatives intensify rescue efforts. He added that the state would not relent until the abducted students and staff were safely rescued.

On her part, the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, urged the nation’s children to take ownership of today responsibly and purposefully, as the future they desire was shaped by their choices. This was contained in her message commemorating the 2026 Children’s Day on Wednesday.

However, the First Lady left out children languishing in different terrorist dens across the nation, the most recent being school children and teachers abducted from schools in Oyo and Borno states. There was no word of hope nor promise of their safe release, even as school abduction is one of the major challenges facing school children in Nigeria

While Nigeria is a signatory to the Safe Schools Declaration, implementation remains weak, with only about 6.6 per cent of schools registered on national monitoring platforms.

But many Nigerians, including activists, media personalities and social media users, took to X and Facebook to condemn what they described as insensitive celebrations amid growing insecurity affecting children. Among those who reacted was former Minister of Education and co-founder of Transparency International, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili, who addressed an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, state governors and members of the National Assembly.

In the letter posted on X, Ezekwesili, who had led the 2014 BBOG campaign, urged political leaders not to issue “ghost-written platitudes” while many Nigerian children remained victims of insecurity and neglect.

“Do not dare open your mouths on May 27 to wish Nigerian children a ‘Happy Children’s Day. Do not dare stand in front of cameras, surrounded by carefully arranged children in matching uniforms, to perform a tenderness you have never extended to the millions of Nigerian children you have abandoned, betrayed, and condemned to lives of suffering,” she wrote.

She said government officials would be “dishonouring” abducted schoolchildren and millions of vulnerable Nigerian children by celebrating the occasion without addressing their plight.

“You are wishing ‘Happy Children’s Day’ to at least 1,799 students seized in a dozen of the largest abductions since Chibok, and to the 670 children affected by at least 10 school kidnappings in less than two years – a litany of horror compiled not by your security agencies, but by international human rights organisations doing the work your government refuses to do.

“You are wishing ‘Happy Children’s Day’ to around 19 million Nigerian children – 27 per cent- who do not attend school due to the threat of kidnappings, poverty and cultural factors, one of the highest numbers in the world,” she wrote.

Ezekwesili slammed the political class for what she called “hypocritical” messages to children affected by poverty, poor healthcare, illiteracy and displacement.

Another human rights activist, Adetoun Onajobi, popularly known as Just Adetoun, took to her Instagram page on Wednesday to lament the absence of the abducted Oyo schoolchildren.

According to her, sleep had evaded her since the incident occurred due to the disturbing videos released by bandits to facilitate ransom payment.

She urged the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to intervene on behalf of the children. “As the mother of the nation, Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s message ought to have also addressed children still in captivity as a result of the government’s failure to protect them or ensure their swift rescue,” she said.

Chess advocate, Tunde Onakoya, said: “Today is children’s day, but 46 innocent children learning in their classrooms in Ogbomosho, Oyo state, were kidnapped by gunmen. It’s been two painful weeks already and these children are still not home with their families, suffering out there in the cold and enduring fear and uncertainty that no child should ever know. This is a national crisis and the government must use every resource necessary to bring these children home. Nothing else matters in this moment. We owe our children a safer country.”

Other Nigerian celebrities also expressed outrage over the abduction of students in Oyo, describing this year’s Children’s Day celebration as painful and heartbreaking. Among those who reacted were Toke Makinwa, Paul Okoye, Ruth Kadiri, Patience Ozokwor, Mercy Eke, Tayo Sobola and Chiwetalu Agu, who all took to social media to demand the safe return of the abducted children.

Using the hashtag #BringBackOurStudents, the celebrities lamented the worsening insecurity in the country and questioned the safety of children and citizens.

Actress Kehinde Bankole, in her post, recalled the role she played in portraying the ordeals of the Chibok schoolgirls abducted in 2014, stressing the persistent nature of insurgency in the country. She wrote: “We cannot say happy Children’s Day if the children continue to be taken consistently. Now it’s the old and young taken together again. We are calling on the government for the start of a long-lasting solution.”

Veteran actress Patience Ozokwo, fondly called Mama G, described the 2026 Children’s Day celebration as a sad one for parents, families of kidnapped victims and the nation at large. She wrote: “How sad this children’s day is, not only for the parents of these abducted children and teachers but for all of us as a nation.

“What can we do to change the narrative? How can they be brought back home safely? How are children being targeted and we are silent? How will change happen if we remain silent? #SoHelpUsGod. #MamaGLovers.”

Reality TV star Mercy Eke of the Big Brother Naija Pepper Dem edition questioned whether children could truly be happy on a day meant to celebrate them amid the growing insecurity. Eke wrote, “Children’s Day; but are the children even SAFE or HAPPY? To the 51 innocent children who should be at home playing, laughing, and living freely, our hearts are with you. You shouldn’t be living in fear or captivity. No child should ever have to endure or suffer this pain. “The government and security agencies have a duty to these kids and we pray for their safe return to their families. Please bring back our kids home safely.”

Actress Ruth Kadiri wrote: “There was once a country where people lived freely… now fear resides with us. Uncertainty lives amongst us. Stay and build your country, they say. Stay where? Home is no longer safe. Home is no longer home. Our children are kidnapped right before our eyes. Every mother’s nightmare is here. You might say it cannot be me. But those mothers, teachers, students, children. NYSC corps members thought so, too. A better Nigeria is what we seek.”

Paul Okoye, popularly known as Rudeboy, simply described the occasion as “unhappy children’s day”.

Nollywood veteran, Chiwetalu Agu, also took to his social media, saying, “These innocent children and teachers have been in captivity for days, while families continue to live in fear, pain, and uncertainty. The question now is: what exactly is the government doing? How can children be taken from schools and communities in such numbers, yet there is still no concrete result or rescue?

“How many more children must suffer before stronger actions are taken against insecurity in this country? Nigeria cannot continue to normalise kidnappings, killings, and the abduction of school children. The safety of citizens, especially children, should never be negotiable. We lend our voices and demand urgent action, accountability, and the safe return of every victim. May God protect our children and help Nigeria. Amen.” (The Guardian)

Update news