MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) – Gunmen in Nigeria on Saturday released 27 teenagers kidnapped from their school last week in the northern state of Niger, while security forces continued to search for more than 300 kidnapped students in a nearby state.
Schools have become targets of mass kidnappings for rescue in northern Nigeria by armed groups, many of whom carry weapons and ride motorcycles.
On February 17, 27 students, three employees and 12 members of their families were kidnapped by an armed gang that invaded the government’s high school of science in the Kagara district in the state of Niger, overloading the school’s security detachment. A boy was killed during the invasion.
After their release, the boys were seen by a Reuters witness walking safely armed through a dusty village, some struggling to get up and asking for water. A government official said the boys were between 15 and 18 years old.
“The students, staff and relatives kidnapped from the government’s Kagara scientific collage regained their freedom and were welcomed by the state government of Niger,” said Governor Abubakar Sani Bello in a tweet.
The students’ release comes just a day after the invasion of a school in the state of Zamfara, where armed men arrested 317 girls.
“Upon receiving the news of the release of the kidnapped students from Kagara, I urge the government to speed up action on the release and safe return of the kidnapped students from the Jangebe Government Secondary School for Girls,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF representative in Nigeria. .
The recent attacks have heightened concern about increased violence by armed gangs and Islamic insurgents. Jihadist group Boko Haram carries out kidnappings in the turbulent northeast of Nigeria, as well as an Islamic State branch.
The unrest has become a political problem for President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired general and former military ruler who has faced growing criticism in recent months over high-profile attacks by gangs known locally as “bandits”.
Buhari replaced his longtime military chiefs this month amid worsening violence in Nigeria.
In December, armed men broke into a school in northwestern Katsina state and kidnapped around 350 boys, who were later rescued by security forces.
Violence and insecurity have aggravated the economic challenges faced by the citizens of Africa’s most populous country and largest oil exporter, which is struggling to cope with falling revenues due to falling oil prices, in addition to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. .
The highest profile school hijacking was that of more than 270 girls abducted by Boko Haram from the city of Chibok in 2014. About 100 of them are still missing.
(Reporting by Maiduguri Newsroom and Alexis Akwagyiram in Lagos; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Toby Chopra and Alexander Smith)