Second kidnapping from Nigerian schools in a week. This time, 315 people were kidnapped, including students and teachers. The number of victims represents almost half of all students.
Gunmen have kidnapped 315 students and teachers from a Catholic school in central Nigeria, the Christian Association of Nigeria said on Saturday. The number of abductees thus increased from the initially reported 227, TASR informs, according to an AFP report.
This is the second mass kidnapping from the school within one week. The association said the new figure was set after “verification” following Friday’s abduction, adding that “the total number of abducted victims … is now 303 students and 12 teachers.” The kidnapping from St Mary’s School in Niger State, central Nigeria, comes after gunmen stormed the secondary school in Kebbi State, northwestern Nigeria on Monday and abducted 25 girls.
They closed the surrounding schools
Also in the case of kidnapped students in central Nigeria, they were girls, writes AFP. The number of abducted female students represents almost half of the 629 female students enrolled in the school. Amid growing security concerns in Africa’s most populous country, authorities in nearby Katsina and Plateau states have ordered the closure of all schools as a precaution.
The Nigerian government has already closed several schools. President Bola Tinubu has canceled his international meetings, including attending the G20 summit in Johannesburg. Nigeria is divided between a predominantly Christian south and a Muslim north and has long been the scene of jihadist insurgencies in which Christians and Muslims are killed – often indiscriminately. Gangs also regularly attack churches and mosques.
