Nigeria

2015: Attended the state consultations on the SSD in Geneva – led by Norway + 2015: Present at the First International Conference on the SSD in Oslo.

November 2016: Participated in Addis workshop, providing a speaker from MoD.

March 2017: Attended Buenos Aires Conference on Safe Schools. Shared strong examples of implementation from the floor. Plan International held a two-day workshop in Maiduguri, Nigeria, on 15-16 of March to discuss the EiE response in the 3 affected states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe. The SSD was a key subject of the workshop. Plan International and other EiE partners will follow up with the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) and other stakeholders to encourage further mainstreaming and implementation of the SSD and Guidelines. The FME also held a follow-up meeting and developed a set of priority actions for implementation, details of which were shared at the Bueno Aires Conference by the representative from Nigeria.

June 2017: Nigeria is continuing to progress implementation of the Declaration, with support from UNICEF Nigeria, Plan International, and other members of the Education in Emergencies Working Group. There have been several newspaper reports regarding implementation of security measures, such as trenches, surveillance, and ID cards, here and here. The EiE WG is carrying out sustained advocacy for implementation with the Ministry of Education. UNICEF Nigeria will prepare a memo on the Declaration to be shared with all education commissioners at the National Council on Education in July.

July 2017: The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) conducted its review of Nigeria. The government of Nigeria referred to the Declaration in its written reply to the committee. During the review, the committee members asked a number of questions about measures to protect schools. This included asking explicitly whether the government had investigated allegations of military use of schools by Nigerian forces. In addition, a committee member commended Nigeria for being among the first to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration. The committee issued its Concluding Observations on Nigeria, and included references to and recommendations regarding the threat to girls’ education posed by Boko Haram. Human Rights Watch issued a dispatch highlighting the review of Nigeria by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, and urging Nigeria to implement the commitments in the Declaration. Bring Back Our Girls issued a call to the government of Nigeria to advance its implementation of the Declaration and to take further steps to ensure safety in schools.

August 2017: Nigeria was the Chair of the AU Peace and Security Council in July and hosted an open debate on child soldiers/out-of-school children in conflict (as referred to under regional advocacy above). Following advocacy by the Save the Children Pan-African and AU Liaison Office, the outcome of the debate was a press statement which welcomed the Declaration and Guidelines, reported here. Nigeria delivered a statement at the UN in New York outlining measures they are taking to protect schools, and referring to the Declaration in this regard. Reported in the Guardian Nigeria here.

September 2017 GCPEA sent a letter to the ambassador in New York asking to raise the issue on attacks and military use, draw attention to the Declaration and the Guidelines and also to mention the AU call to endorse during the UN Security Council Open Debate on children and armed conflict. Nigeria delivered a statement in occasion of the Save the Children Pan Africa and AU Liaison Office in Addis Abeba high level dialogue to protect education from attacks and military use and to promote the implementation of the Declaration and Guidelines.

February 2018: In advance of the End Violence Solutions Summit in Stockholm on 14-15 February, GCPEA issued letter to Nigeria, calling on them to highlight the Declaration during the summit.

March 2018: Following sustained advocacy by the Save the Children Pan-African and AU Liaison, on 13 March, the PSC Ambassadors of Nigeria and Liberia announced the formation of the African Union Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict and invited more member states to join. Uganda expressed their intention to join the Group of Friends.

March 2018: The Education in Emergencies Working Group (EiEWG) secured the signature of the Minister for Education, reaffirming Nigeria’s support for the Declaration, and clearing the way for more in-depth cooperation on implementation.Save the Children Nigeria, PLAN, And UNICEF are working together to organize a workshop on 2-3 May aimed at contextualizing the Guidelines for Nigeria. They are receiving advice from GCPEA and Save the Children DRC, who are sharing their experience of carrying out a legal review in the DRC in 2016.

April 2018: UNICEF issued a report that 1,000 girls had been abducted by Boko Haram since 2013, and appealing for an end to attacks on schools.

May 2018: strong statement made referencing the Safe Schools Declaration during the Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in the Sec. Council Chamber

June 2018: The Nigerian government signed the Safe School Declaration in May 2015, but as of this writing it had not yet developed a strategy for its implementation, and some relevant government ministries were not aware of the SSD commitments.

July 2018: Co-sponsored resolution 2427 (2018).Mentioned and welcomed the Safe Schools Declaration during the statement to the SC.

January 2019: The Federal Ministry of Education legal unit has submitted a Safe Schools Declaration Ratification Memo to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for their approval. The FEC approval will then pave the way for the Federal Ministry of Justice to start the process of Safe Schools Declaration ratification in Nigeria. The FEC disseminated 150 copies of the GCPEA toolkit to all ministers and relevant departments before the meeting.

March 2019: Clustered Interactive Dialogue with the SRSG CAAC Virginia Gamba, HRC Geneva: joined Norway’s joint statement on the Safe Schools Declaration.

May 2019: Participated in the Third International Conference in Palma.

September 2019: During his speech to the UNGA, the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, mentioned his government’s efforts in mainstreaming and implementation of Safe Schools Declaration laws and policies across all educational institutions.

September 2019: Save the Children Nigeria hosted the Regional West and Central Africa Safe Schools Common Approach workshop in Abuja, Nigeria to build capacities of country offices staff to support implementation of the approach at the regional and on national level. The workshop included a session with the Education in Emergencies Working Group to share good practice on implementation of the Declaration and the Guidelines.

November 2019: Opening panel for the General Day of Discussion on CAC included a presentation by the Nigerian Ambassador to the AU and Ethiopia. Clearly a SSD fan — said “attacks on schools can no longer be tolerated,” and “Safe Schools must be embraced and adopted by more states on the continent”.

October 2019: During the celebrations of the 2019 World Teachers’ Day in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Prof Adamu Adamu, highlighted that his ministry had endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration and shared that they were taking steps to implement the commitments made through the policies and financial aids for the protection of students, teachers and schools from attacks and military use. He also expressed concerns that educational institutions had become targets for kidnapping, killing and other violent attacks.

January 2020: GCPEA provided input to the draft National School Safety and Security Policy (NSSSP) led by the EiEWGN. The policy is purposed to provide policy guidance, set a standard for the implementation of comprehensive school safety at national, state, local government and school levels. It pulls out security as a stand-alone topic and is based, in part, on a six-state scoping study of existing policies in Nigeria (and resources from other countries shared by GCPEA). GCPEA recommended that the chapter dedicated on the Guidelines should clarify Nigeria’s position on military use of schools and lay out the background as to what constitutes military use and why military forces should refrain from this practice. GCPEA also provided language related to the specific needs and experiences of female students, including steps to prevent abductions and sexual violence against female students and education personnel. Once drafted, the policy will be shared with security agencies for their input, and the Ministry of Education will convene a national stakeholders meeting for buy-in on the policy. The National Council on Education will then approve the final draft and launch the NSSSP.

August 2020: GCPEA reviewed and provided input to template forms to monitor and report attacks developed by the EiE WG and the Nigerian Ministry of Education. These reporting and assessment template include ‘Attacked Educational Facilities and Response’, ‘Attacks on Security Agencies Use of Educational Facilities’, ‘Direct or Collateral Injuries to Learners’ and ‘Educational Staff and Guidelines on Decision-Making Process to Reopen Educational Facilities in Conflict-Affected Areas’. The template will be presented at EMIS annual meeting for approval and inclusion in the annual school census to monitor violations and enhance programmatic measures for prevention and protection. The data collected will also assist in identifying required assistance to victims of attacks and highlight renovation needs for damaged educational infrastructure.

September 2020: Nevena (advocacy team) and Jerome (research team) spoke at a webinar organized by the EiE WG to celebrate the International Day to Protect Education from Attack in Nigeria. We presented global and regional data and trends on attacks on education and highlighted gender-specific recommendations on strengthening protection of students and schools in Nigeria. GCPEA met with the Mission of Nigeria to the UN in Geneva and they confirmed their support for profiling the Safe Schools Declaration (for increased endorsement and implementation) and the International Conference at the multilateral level in Geneva. In this respect, we encouraged them to brief the humanitarian experts in Geneva and inform the Africa Group about developments. Nigeria proposed a side event in Geneva ahead of the conference (possibly during the High-Level Segment of the Human Rights council in March 2021).

Oct 2020: The Ministry of Defense with support from EiEWG held a 2- day workshop for the development of a Safe Schools Declaration training manual for Security Agencies and Human Rights Institutions.

December 2020: The EiE WG developed a Safe Schools Declaration Trainers Manual and Facilitator’s Guide for security and human rights actors in Nigeria. GCPEA advocacy and research team reviewed the manual and the guide and provided substantial feedback related to Education under Attack 2020 data and recent examples of SSD implementation.

March 2021: Made reference to the SSD during the ID with the SRSG on CAAC.

April 2021: GCPEA (Yatasha and Andrea) met with the Counsellor at the New Mission. The meeting discussed the work of the SSD and how the Mission in New York can support the issue to protect from attacks on education at the Security Council. The Mission was encouraged to submit written statements ahead of all debates, and also raise visibility for the International Conference. The Mission committed to promote the Declaration, the Conference and engage in bilateral and group meetings and also engage with the champion countries. The mission was supportive of a briefing on the Conference in September around the International Day as well as a New York hub. The mission was not fully aware of all the preparations at the national level, and requested to be regularly updated. GCPEA subsequently requested the MFA to keep the Missions updated.

September 2021: Nigeria MFA participated at the High Level for the International Day to Protect Education from Attack and refered to the SSD.

October 2021: main host of the Fourth International Conference on SSD in Abuja, Nigeria.

October 2021: co-sponsored UNSCR2601.

January 2022: On 27/01 Nevena and Apolline met with Ms. Nwatam Papka from the Geneva Permanent Mission. We provided an overview on GCPEA and the Declaration, and de-briefed on the Abuja Conference. We also discussed areas of collaboration in Geneva through the Core Group on the Safe Schools Declaration, including the upcoming Geneva workshop on “Advancing the Protection of Education in Conflict agenda in Geneva”, which will seek to explore and seize upon the Geneva community’s specific added-value and unique role in protecting education in conflict, operationalise the action points from the Geneva-hub event (held on 25 October 2021), and develop joint planning to promote the protection of education from attacks at the Geneva level and to encourage greater endorsement and implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration. We encouraged Nigeria to conduct peer-to-peer advocacy and hosts lunches to discuss the Declaration with key non-endorsing countries (Comoros, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Mauritania, Rwanda, Tunisia, and Cape Verde). GCPEA shared a list of key states in the region that have not endorsed and offered to support with background information for bilateral meetings and/or lunches.

February 2022: NHRC, with technical support from Save the Children International, African Union Liaison and Pan Africa Office, is recruiting a Legal senior expert to draft a primary national legislation on protection of education from attack. GCPEA assisted with the drafting of the ToR and will also reach out to interested Coalition members to facilitate a meeting with the successful candidate on accountability.

February 2022: GCPEA is working with the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to organise an advocacy lunch with the remaining three non-endorsing states at ECOWAS (Cabo Verde, Guinea and Guinea Bissau). The lunch will take place towards the end of March. There might be a second lunch organised with other non-endorsing countries, including Gabon, Lesotho, Mauritania, and Rwanda.

April 2022: GCPEA met with the Director MoD Education Services Dept, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Director of Admin, and Director of Education Defence Headquarters, in Abuja. GCPEA briefed them on the global dimension of the SSD (114 endorsements, Resolution 2601, upcoming EUA 2022, and September 9), and highlighted opportunity for Nigeria to play a champion role after successful Abuja Conference and recent legal-political commitments. GCPEA also mentioned the present military occupation of schools in Borno (the Director DHQ CDS Armed Forces was very much aware) and encouraged them to use the forms developed by EiEWGN to help armed forces to vacate the schools. They welcomed this document and readily accepted it stating that they did not wish to occupy the schools and would reach out formally once the troops would be ready to vacate. Overall, they seemed to be well briefed on the SSD and the Guidelines and its commitments. They said that they were now working with the finance ministry to implement the Plan of Action 2021-2023.

Director MoD made the following asks: Armed forces should stop using schools and only as a last resort; If they use schools, they should ensure that they vacate and convert them back to their civilian nature; SSD training manuals for security agencies should be incorporated into the training programs for all security personnel – they should also roll out the training on their part as EiEWGN as already trained MTs; SSD and the Guidelines is to be incorporated into the doctrines, military manuals, rules of engagements, operational orders to ensure best practice throughout the chain of command.

A few days after the meeting, GCPEA received a call from the MoD SSD Desk Officer, explaining that the Director MoD legal services said that they had received the AfA review from the justice department, and would be including the EiEWGN AfA amendment. They will inform us of any new developments.

April 2021: On 21 April 2021, during a forum entitled “Financing Safe Schools: Creating Safe Learning Communities”, representatives of federal ministries of the Government of Nigeria and state governments and all state education commissioners, as well as representatives of security agencies, multilateral institutions and international donors,committed themselves to developing and implementing the Abuja compact on financing for safe schools, to create safe learning communities in order to redress the education emergency Nigeria is facing, so that children can safely return to school.

September 2022 Transforming Education Summit: Nigeria called for global partnership to transform education. The president said “Nigeria is restoring trust with its people, in order to provide safe learning environment and responsive services. That was why we were among the first to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD), while developing a national policy on school safety and security. Nigeria also hosted the 4th International Conference on Safe Schools Declaration in partnership with the African Union, Norway, Spain, Argentina and Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) in 2021,’’. He said the implementation of the SSD had offered an avenue to address school safety in a broader context that now includes gender-based violence and the protection of girls from hazards that contribute to insecurity and violence, “While this is a step forward for promoting the wellbeing of girls and ensuring they stay in school and learn, there are still many more grounds to cover.”

October 2022: On 5 October, we had a call with Nnamdi Nze, Minister at the PM in NY. We pitched the idea of Nigeria hosting a briefing for the Africa Group in New York in October, and followed up with a letter for his Ambassador outlining the objectives of the briefing. Nigeria is the chair of the Africa group this month so we have a good chance of including it in the agenda of their next meeting. We also briefed him on the upcoming UNSC open debate on WPS and shared our recommendations.

November 2022: The Financing Safe Schools Unit in Federal Ministry of Finance is getting inputs from various Ministries and agencies on a costed plan on financing SSD implementation. A validation meeting was held, where stakeholders gave their final inputs before the launch. The government views the document as taking ownership by providing funding to back various policies and initiatives. National Defence College (NDA), MoD – they are planning to run school safety courses 2-3 per year. The SSD materials produced by EiE WG are reference documents. A meeting is scheduled to take place on how to proceed.

August 2023: On August 2 Michela met with Ms. Halima Iliya, coordinator of the Financing Safe Schools program at the Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance to discuss SSD implementation in Nigeria. She informed that the National Financing Safe Schools Unit of Federal Ministry of Finance have visited the 18 states identified as at very high risk for assessment of the most vulnerable schools to conduct the pilot Safe Schools program. Nigeria MoF is looking for potential donors and partners to fund the program.