Over 100 students abducted in northeast Nigeria
Lagos, Jul 5 (EFE).- Over 100 students were abducted in the early hours of Monday in northeast Nigeria after armed assailants attacked a boarding school, according to Nigerian police, although the exact number of kidnapped students is still unknown.
“For now we have rescued 17 students, the total number of students kidnapped is still to be determined,” said Mohammed Jalige, spokesperson for Kaduna state police, where the attack was carried out.
The gunmen are thought to be bandits who burst into Bethel Baptist High School, in the Chikun region, at about 2am local time (1am GMT) firing sporadic warning shots and abducting an undetermined amount of students, according to pastor John Hayab, secretary general of the Christian Association of Nigeria’s regional branch.
A total of 182 students attend the school, he said, 28 of which are accounted for so far and 17 have been rescued, while the location of 137 students is still unknown.
The last few months have seen an increase in mass abductions in schools in the north of Nigeria, often with the intent of raking in ransom payments.
More than 800 people have been kidnapped in similar assaults since December 2020.
Eight people were abducted Sunday in Kaduna as well, from the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Training Centre in Zaria, allegedly taken by armed bandits.
On May 30, some 147 students were abducted from an Islamic school in the state of Niger, in the north of the country, 11 of which, aged 4-12 years old, were released the following day.
On May 29, 14 students from Greenfield University in Kaduna were released, having been kidnapped in April.
A total of 279 students were abducted on February 26 from a government girls school in Zamfara and were returned on March 2.
