KANO, Nigeria (AP) – More than 280 school pupils in the north-western town of Kuriga have been abducted by gunmen on motorcycles, according to officials on Tuesday. The assailants struck while the students were gathered on the school’s assembly ground around 08:30 local time, taking children aged between eight and 15 along with a teacher.
Kidnap gangs, known as bandits, have been responsible for numerous abductions in the region, particularly in the north-west of Nigeria. The recent incident signifies a resurgence in mass child abductions, following a period of relative calm in the past year. Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna state, which includes Kuriga, confirmed the kidnapping, reporting that 187 students from a secondary school and 125 from a primary school were originally missing, with 25 students later returning.
Eyewitnesses described the chaotic scene, revealing that one girl was injured by gunfire and was receiving medical care at a local hospital. Additionally, a teacher who managed to escape recounted the failed attempts by local residents to rescue the abducted children, resulting in one fatality.
The military has launched an operation to locate and rescue the missing children, with the governor vowing not to leave any child behind. Although separate from the militant group Boko Haram in the north-east, criminal kidnapping syndicates in north-western Nigeria have instilled fear and uncertainty in the region. Reports suggest that these groups may have occasional collaborations with extremist organizations like Boko Haram.
The incident in Kuriga occurred in an area controlled by Ansaru, a breakaway faction of Boko Haram infamous for the 2014 abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok. In an attempt to combat the rampant kidnapping trade in Nigeria, a contentious law prohibiting ransom payments was enacted in 2022, carrying a minimum 15-year jail sentence for offenders.
Earlier this year, a family in Abuja confronted false reports of their kidnapped daughters’ rescue, highlighting the complexities and challenges in combating kidnapping crimes across the country. The community in Kuriga remains on edge as the search for the missing pupils intensifies, reinforcing the urgency for stronger security measures and stricter enforcement of anti-kidnapping laws.