Over 100 Students Kidnapped from School in Nigeria’s Kaduna State

More than 100 Nigerian school children have been abducted by gunmen in a brazen attack on a school in Kuriga, a town in the northwestern state of Kaduna.

Witnesses report that dozens of gunmen arrived on motorcycles around 8:30 am local time (7:30 GMT) and stormed the school grounds during morning assembly. The attackers believed to be members of a notorious kidnapping gang known as bandits, forcefully took away students aged between eight and fifteen along with a teacher. This incident marks a disturbing escalation in the activities of these criminal groups.

While kidnappings have plagued northwestern Nigeria for years, there has been a recent decline in the targeting of children. The attack has left at least one student injured by gunfire who is currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Birnin Gwari. The abduction comes on the heels of another violent act against educators in the region. In January, bandits reportedly killed a school principal and abducted his wife in the same area. Authorities have confirmed the Kuriga incident but have yet to release further details.

It’s important to note that this kidnapping appears to be unrelated to the recent abduction of women and children by the Boko Haram Islamist group in northeastern Nigeria. Although there have been instances of collaboration between these groups in the past, the motivations and methods employed in these separate events differ significantly. In 2022, the Nigerian government passed a controversial law that criminalizes ransom payments and prescribes a minimum prison sentence of 15 years for those who violate the law.

This is in an attempt to curb the growing problem of kidnappings which have become a lucrative criminal enterprise. However, the effectiveness of this measure remains to be seen as no arrests have been reported in connection with these recent abductions. The families of the girls claim that they were forced to pay ransom for their safe return, contradicting police pronouncements of a successful rescue operation.