Over 280 school pupils kidnapped by gunmen in Kuriga

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In the town of Kuriga in north-western Nigeria, more than 280 school pupils were abducted by gunmen on motorcycles while they were gathered in the assembly ground around 08:30 (07:30 GMT), according to officials.

The incident occurred at the Government Secondary School, and witnesses reported that students aged between eight and 15, along with a teacher, were taken.

Kidnap gangs, commonly known as bandits, have been responsible for numerous abductions in the region, especially in the north-west. Despite a decrease in mass child abductions over the past year, this incident marks a resurgence.

Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State confirmed the abduction, stating that 187 students from the Government Secondary School and 125 from the local primary school were missing. However, 25 students have since returned.

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An eyewitness reported that one pupil was shot by the gunmen and is receiving medical attention at Birnin Gwari Hospital. Attempts by residents to rescue the children were thwarted by the gunmen, resulting in one person being killed.

The armed forces have launched an operation to locate the kidnapped victims, as nearly every family is believed to have a child among them.

This incident follows the killing of a school principal and the abduction of his wife by bandits in the same region in January.

Additionally, recent reports suggest that dozens of women and children were feared kidnapped by the Boko Haram Islamist group in north-eastern Nigeria.

While these two cases of mass abductions are not believed to be related, the criminal kidnap gangs in north-western Nigeria operate separately from the militant Islamist group Boko Haram in the north-east. However, there have been occasional reports of collaboration between the two groups.

The area where the attack occurred is controlled by Ansaru, a breakaway faction of Boko Haram. Ansaru previously gained notoriety for kidnapping over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014.

Recall that to combat Nigeria’s escalating kidnapping problem, a controversial law was passed in 2022, criminalizing ransom payments with a minimum jail sentence of 15 years. However, no arrests have been made under this law.

Earlier this year, the family of sisters kidnapped in Abuja refuted a police statement claiming the security forces had rescued the girls, asserting that they had no choice but to pay the ransom.