Preventing Boko Haram Abductions of Schoolchildren in Nigeria

Four years after the abductions in Chibok, and months after more kidnappings in Dapchi, over 100 schoolgirls are still missing.

Nigeria must act to make schools safe – beefing up security, learning from past mistakes and, ultimately, working to end the Boko Haram insurgency.

In February, a faction of the jihadist Boko Haram movement, seized 113 children from Dapchi in north east Nigeria.

It later released 107 of them.

Five reportedly died; one remains captive.

This comes four years after militants captured 276 girls from Chibok, another north-eastern town, 112 of whom are still missing.

The incident shows the difficulty of protecting vast areas vulnerable to such attacks. But Nigerian authorities’ missteps also played a…