KUJE, FCT — Seventeen-year-old Ismaila Abdulahi has never been to school. Since arriving in Kuje from Kano at the age of 11, he has spent his days hawking goods on the streets. Musa Abubakar left a Tsangaya school in Zaria and now begs in Abuja. Their stories, gathered by Daily Trust, reflect a national crisis: UNICEF's 2025 report puts the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria at 10.2 million, with 45 per cent in the North-West and 28 per cent in the North-East. Parents interviewed, including Aisha Abubakar and Rashida Usman, said the cost of uniforms, books and transport pushes children out of school. Olaniyan Folashade of the FCT Secondary Education Board said some schools have teachers but no students, and blamed religious beliefs as well as poverty. A non-governmental organisation, Restored Heart, has given 25 scholarships and 100 chairs to Government Day Secondary School, Kuje. Prof. Muhammed Tukur Baba of the Arewa Consultative Forum warned that children left out of school are at risk of recruitment by extremist groups.