Nigeria's School Kidnapping Wave: 24 Schoolgirls Released, Another Serious Case

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on November 25 welcomed the girls' release and called on security forces to step up efforts to rescue others still being held.

“I am relieved that all 24 girls have been found. We now need to urgently deploy more troops in vulnerable areas to prevent further kidnappings. My administration will provide all necessary support to achieve this,” Mr Tinubu said.

Metal beds in a dormitory room after gunmen attacked a government girls' boarding school in Kebbi state, Nigeria on November 17. Photo: Independent Television

The girls were kidnapped on November 17 when armed men stormed the school in Kebbi state shortly after a military guard left.

In another major kidnapping in Niger state on November 21, attackers raided a Catholic school in Niger state, kidnapping more than 300 students and staff. About 50 students escaped over the weekend.

Four days after the abduction of the children from St Mary’s school, no group has claimed responsibility or contacted the school for ransom.

While the above incidents had not yet subsided, another kidnapping incident occurred on November 25, when gunmen kidnapped 10 more women and children in a village in Kwara State, western Nigeria.

Kwara state police commissioner Ojo Adekimi said the attackers, a group of “herdsmen”, fired sporadically during the raid on Monday night in Isapa village, which is close to a village where 35 people were kidnapped just a week earlier.

Mass kidnappings for ransom have become common in northern Nigeria, where armed gangs target schools and rural communities, often overwhelming local security forces.

Source: https://congluan.vn/lan-song-bat-coc-hoc-sinh-o-nigeria-24-nu-sinh-duoc-tha-them-mot-vu-nghiem-trong-nua-10319266.html