The girls were kidnapped on Friday by armed men who broke into their state school in northwestern Nigeria’s Zamfara state, police said. A spokesman for the area’s regional governor, Bello Matawalle, said on Tuesday that all 279 girls were safely returned and counted.
But the violence broke out when the girls met with their parents in Jangebe on Wednesday, eyewitnesses told CNN.
Witnesses said parents who wanted to take their children home became impatient with government officials who were giving speeches. Authorities also told parents that they planned to keep the girls at school overnight before sending them home, observers said.
Video obtained by journalists in the field showed relatives shouting and invading the corridor where the girls and the authorities were. The youths who came with the adults started throwing stones at government officials, the parents said. The soldiers then opened fire, which led to further chaos as the parents struggled to grab their daughters.
One of the parents, Safiyanu Jangebe, told CNN: “We got tired of waiting. Government officials were talking and talking while we waited to take our children. They started saying that they would hand over the girls to us tomorrow (Thursday). We couldn’t stand it. … some angry young men started throwing stones at soldiers. They started shooting and shooting three children. One is dead. Why is the government treating us without human feelings? ”
Abubakar Shittu’s son was one of the targeted teenagers. Video provided to CNN by hospital journalists showed the boy lying on a bed with a bloody leg.
“After they kidnapped our daughters, see how the soldiers came and shot our children. Now, which of these pains are we going to deal with? [with], “Abubakar said in the video, while he is standing over his unconscious son, who is lying on a hospital bed.
Zamfara Police Commissioner Abutu Yaro denied that his men shot parents and children, calling the reports “false news”.
“I think that parents hastily carried their children because they think they come from very distant villages, that’s what happened,” he said. “As for the shot that is a fake report, I don’t have that report on my desk.”
Immediately after the incident, the local government imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Jangebe, it announced in a statement on Wednesday. “This is to prevent further violations of the peace,” said the statement, which made no reference to the shooting.
Kidnapping for ransom is common in parts of Nigeria and has become a major security challenge. State governors regularly pay ransoms to ensure the victims’ safety, but rarely admit to doing so.
CNN’s Stephanie Busari contributed reporting.