UNICEF Condemns Killing of Students in Northeastern Nigeria
NEW YORK (February 26, 2014) - UNICEF expressed its outrage at the brutal killing yesterday of some 45 children, 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,” said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF's Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “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 the repeated attacks on schools in northeastern Nigeria in this context of fear and violence. Since June 2013, four attacks have 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 are their lives shattered—the future of the nation is stolen,” added Fontaine.
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.
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About UNICEF
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works in 190 countries and territories to save and improve children’s lives, providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF’s work through fundraising, advocacy, and education in the United States. Together, we are working toward the day when zero children die from preventable causes and every child has a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.
For additional information, please contact:
Susannah Masur, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, 212.880.9146, smasur@unicefusa.org