Abstract:
Studies have shown that children residing in countries affected
by armed conflict are more likely not to attend school as compared to
other children. This is the fate of millions of children in Northern Nigeria,
where the attacks on educational facilities by Boko Haram terrorists and
the general insecurity in the region have resulted in the closing down of
thousands of schools in the region by the government at various levels,
without viable alternative methods of enabling access to education for
the affected children. This serves as the foundation for the question
addressed in this article, namely, whether the general insecurity in the
region absolved the government of its obligation to ensure access to
basic education for children in the region. Through the interrogation
of various international, regional and domestic legal instruments and
jurisprudence, the article argues that the insecurity in the northern
region does not absolve the government of its obligation to provide
the enablement for children to access basic education in the region.
As a way of recommendation, the article explores the possibility of the
government leveraging technology as a method of enabling access to
basic education to children in the affected areas.
