Schools remain closed on Nigeria-Benin border due to threat of attacks
In the border areas of Nigeria and Benin, the new school year is beginning amid threats from armed groups. In Benin, schools in ten northern communes have remained closed, while students from these communities have been assigned to institutions in safer areas.
According to Premium Times Nigeria, Benin's education authorities linked the decision to the risk of possible terrorist attacks near the country's borders with Burkina Faso and Niger. Officials did not specify the number of closed schools. Parents of some students confirmed the information about the transfer of children to AFP, while Benin government spokesperson Wilfried Houngbédji had announced the decision earlier.
Closed schools in Nigeria
Security pressure has intensified in Nigeria in more than 20 communities near the Kainji forest corridors in Niger and Kwara states, which border Benin. Mukadas Dinday, a zonal official of the education service, said that virtually all schools in villages affected by violence have been closed since 2025.
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According to him, only schools in the towns of Wawa and New Bussa were due to resume classes on September 14. This information was confirmed by an unnamed representative of the Niger State Ministry of Education. He noted that a community that considers it possible to reopen a school must apply through the local government chairman to the Ministry of Internal Security. Security agencies must then assess the safety of the institution under the federal school protection initiative.
Activity of armed groups
According to an analysis by Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), the number of violent incidents involving jihadist groups in designated border areas of Benin, Niger and Nigeria increased by 86% in 2025 compared with 2024. The number of related deaths rose by 262%. ACLED linked the expansion of activity by groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State to a limited state presence, weak border control and weakened regional security cooperation.
Nigerian Defence Minister Christopher Musa said in July that military cooperation with Benin and Niger had been strengthened and that a new military sector had been established for the tri-border area. The publication also reported that armed attackers burned down a primary school in Dekari in June. Displaced resident Shuaibu Ba said that the school head was later abducted and killed. Premium Times notes that the involvement of specific groups in individual attacks is difficult to independently verify due to the presence of several armed groups in the region.
