A picture taken with a drone shows a forest in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria, 03 July 2025 (issued 04 July 2025). The company, a major producer of furniture in Kwara State, noticed a decrease in the quality of timber based on the decline of hardwood such as teak, having to exploit other essences such as eucalyptus. In early 2025, the Kwara State Government ordered the temporary closure of forests in the state, aiming to facilitate the forests’ natural regeneration severely impacted by human interference. EPA/EMMANUEL ADEGBOYE 
Nigeria has witnessed a spate of attacks by gunmen, including the kidnapping on Monday of 25 schoolgirls from a boarding school in northwestern Kebbi state, putting a spotlight on insecurity and forcing President Bola Tinubu to postpone foreign trips.
"The (Kwara state) government is determined to curtail the activities of kidnappers who may want to use schoolchildren as human shields," Lawal Olohungbebe, the Kwara state education commissioner, said in a statement on Thursday.
He said the school closures would remain in place until security agencies give clearance for normal activities to resume.
On Tuesday evening, gunmen attacked a church in Kwara state, which borders Benin in the west of Nigeria, killing at least two people and kidnapping the pastor and some worshippers.
Nigeria is under scrutiny from U.S. President Donald Trump who in early November threatened military action over the treatment of Christians in the country.
Nigeria says claims that Christians face persecution misrepresent a complex security situation and do not take into account efforts to safeguard religious freedom.
Tinubu has dispatched a delegation led by the country's national security advisor to meet U.S. lawmakers and government officials.
(Reporting by Ahmed Kingimi, Writing by Ben Ezeamalu; Editing by Aidan Lewis)