Nigerian Governor Warns Residents To Send Their Children to School or Risk Jail
- Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya-led Gombe state government has sent a serious warning to parents and guardians in the state
- The Chairman of the Gombe State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Babaji Babadidi, said parents and guardians who fail to send their children to school risk jail terms
- Babadidi read out the full punishment as contained in Section 19(2) of the law during the inauguration of the 2025/2026 School Enrolment Campaign
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering basic and tertiary education in Nigeria and worldwide
Akko LGA, Gombe state - Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya-led Gombe state government has vowed to prosecute parents and guardians who fail to send their children to school.
The Chairman of the Gombe State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Babaji Babadidi, said parents found wanting could face a two-month jail term under Section 19(2) of the SUBEB Amendment Law 2021.
Source: Twitter
As reported by Vanguard, Babadidi said the measure was to ensure that every child in the state has access to quality basic education.
Babadidi gave the warning at the inauguration of the 2025/2026 School Enrolment Campaign in Amada, Akko Local Government Area, on Monday, September 22, 2025.
“Every parent should ensure that their child or ward attends and completes primary, junior, and senior secondary education.
“Any parent who contravenes Section 19(2) of the law commits an offence and is liable, upon conviction, to pay a fine or serve a one-month prison sentence.
“Subsequent convictions also attract a substantial fine or imprisonment for a term of two months.”
Babadidi said the Gombe state government adopted a carrot approach by providing free education before this enrollment campaign.
“However, if we fail to meet our target of enrolling 400,000 students into primary schools this session, we will revert to the stick approach by enforcing the law.”
FG to pay mothers to send children to school
Recall that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government launched the Basic Education Transformation Agenda (BETA) to tackle out-of-school children, poor infrastructure, and low teacher capacity.
Starting from the 2025/2026 session, students in federal and state technical colleges will enjoy free tuition, boarding, feeding, uniforms, and a N22,500 stipend.
The reforms include Conditional Cash Transfers, teacher retraining, modernised curricula, upgraded unity schools, STEMM innovation grants, and expanded scholarships.
Read more stories on Out-of-school children
- Federal Govt Targets Enrollment of 500,000 Out-of-School Children
- Tinubu’s Govt to Introduce Cash Transfers to Families to Fight Out-of-School Children Scourge
- Full List: States With Highest Out-Of-School Children in Nigeria
Free education: Abia govt sends warning to parents
In a previous story, Legit.ng reported that the Abia state government declared free and compulsory education for all children in the southeast state.
The free education will run from primary one to Junior Secondary School three in all public schools.
The Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, said the government would prosecute defaulting parents and guardians who flouted the new policy.
Source: Legit.ng
