'I prefer to be a farmer dan to go back to school becos of wetin my eye see'

Sitting for di doorway of her family one-room apartment after returning from her Quranic class, 14-year-old Mariam dey dream to go back to school.

"I dey very sad to dey spend too much time out of school, but I hope to continue my education one day," she tok.

Dem kidnap Mariam along with at least 279 oda students from her school for Kuriga, for Nigeria northwest Kaduna state, for March 2024. Dem hold di children for 17 days before dem release dem.

Mariam and her school mates never go back to class since den.

Nigeria already get di highest number of out-of-school children globally, but insecurity and di recent rate of mass kidnappings, especially for northern Nigeria, dey make tins worse.

According to UNICEF, at least 18.3 million children dey out of school for di West African nation. Most of dem dey di North, with insecurity and poverty as some of di contributing factors.

Di organisation for one report last year say e get 19 documented incidents in 2022 and 2023, "wey lead to di closure of 113 schools" in three of di northern states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe alone due to insecurity.

Di mass kidnapping for Kuriga bin be one of di largest school abductions for Nigeria in over a decade, since di 2014 kidnapping of di Chibok schoolgirls wey shock di world.

BBC travel to Kuriga and bin get rare access to di school and di children wey bin dey kidnapped. Di journey bin get many risks, and we drive past at least nine security checkpoints on di nearly two-hour journey. E no get any communication network on di road and even for Kuriga, and di police tell us say na one of di most dangerous areas in di state.

Many villages along di route dey deserted due to constant attacks by criminal gangs.

Mariam father, Idris Alhassan, make di decision to move im family from Kuriga and vow say e no go ever return to im hometown.

"Dem kidnap me from di village even before di school abduction take place. Dem hold me for four days, but luckily, I escape. A few days after I return home, di gunmen come back to kidnap my daughter and di oda children," Mr Alhassan tell BBC.

"Dat na di sign for me to leave and take my family to safety. We comot from Kuriga a week after di school abduction; I only return wem dem release di children to pick up Mariam. I no tink say I go ever go back."

Mariam and her family now dey live for Rigasa, on di outskirts of di Kaduna state capital, along with oda families wey don also run comot sake of di insecurity across di state.

Dem no get land to settle on or farm, wey don leave dem to struggle for dia basic needs. Dis also mean say Mariam and her siblings never return to school.

"Life in Rigasa dey very tough. No work, no food, no education for our children, let alone access to healthcare. No school nearby, and we dey fear to send our children far away becos we still dey traumatised," Mariam father tok.

While di older children go out dey scavenge for tins, di younger ones, like Mariam, go stay for house to attend Islamic religious classes.

Di Kaduna state goment say dem don relocate more dan 300 schools becos of insecurity.

"Wen we come into office in 2023, over 800 schools bin dey closed or abandoned in di state due to insecurity," Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, tell BBC News.

"We inherit about 736,000 out-of-school children. So far, we don take about 300,000 back to school," e add.

Despite di state goment efforts, many of di schools still remain closed, and many of di students dey too scared to resume dia education.

Sixteen-year-old Auwal Adamu tell BBC say, "I no wan go back to school becos I still dey afraid and traumatised."

"I dey fear say di gunmen go fit return and kidnap us again. I be di only one wey know di challenges I face wen dem take us and while in captivity. I suffer a lot. We waka for so long with no rest and no food. I prefer to be a farmer dan to go back to school."

Auwal mother, Hussaina Adamu, support im decision, and she no dey ready to risk her only son safety.

"Even though di goment don open di school, I prefer to have my son with me at home becos I dey fear say those gunmen fit return and kidnap di children again."

Cristian Munduate, UNICEF Representative for Nigeria, wan see more action from di goment to get children like Mariam and Auwal back to di classroom.

"Authorities need to come up with different modalities wey go make di parents bring back dia children to school," e tok.

Governor Sani say to get di affected children back in school na im "number one priority".

"We don launch a safe school initiative, deploy technology and also engage a local vigilance service to ensure all our children go go school safely," e tok.

Mariam and di oda children for Rigasa wey still hope to resume dia education hold on to di hope say di authorities and dia parents go find way to get dem re-enrolled in school soon.

"My ambition na to become a lawyer or doctor in di future; dat na why I wan go back to school to achieve my dream."

Additional reporting by Yusuf Akinpelu