Fear and anguish in Nigeria after the abduction of 330 children

Kankara, Nigeria – Fury, fear and exhaustion. Distress overwhelms many parents in the village of Kankara in northern Nigeria, who await news of their children being among the 330 students abducted by extremists from a boys ’school last week.

They clung to hope after Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari said 17 boys had been rescued since the attack, including 15 by the armed forces, another by police and one that was opened. wandering in the woods and to which the residents handed over to the authorities.

Boko Haram jihadists claimed responsibility for the abduction of students at Kankara High School of Science. Several hundred more students managed to escape during the attack by skipping a search or fleeing when they were taken to a nearby forest.

Boko Haram has abducted students because it believes Western education is anti-Islamic, rebel leader Abubakar Shekau said in a video claiming responsibility for the attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, a non-governmental organization dedicated to analysis of online extremist activity.

The Nigerian government is negotiating with the assailants to try to release the abductees, spokesman Garba Sheru said in a statement. But he did not identify the kidnappers, whom the government previously described as criminals.

Aminu Ma’le, whose son was among the 17 who were rescued, said he thanked “God for miraculously helping us, and I pray for the safety of other children who are still missing or abducted.” The military found his son wandering in the undergrowth, he added.

The parents said they were tired of waiting for the situation in the north, where President Muhammadu Buhari came from, to improve.

“I no longer have a way to measure my anger,” said Marwa Hamza Kankara, who was camping outside the school on Tuesday night awaiting news from her son. “No woman will be out at this time, but we can’t sleep, we can’t get there because of our missing children.”

Hamza said all the missing were lost in Nigeria.

“Not only do I cry for my son, but for all the children,” he said.

As armed patrols pass by, parents outside the school briefly regain hope that their children may have been found.

Throughout Nigeria, people are following the news closely about the abducted children and many have criticized the government for the continuing violence of extremists.

“No one is happy about the insecurity in the country. It includes children who are afraid to be in present-day Nigeria due to insecurity, ”said Syvester Anachike, 58, a period seller in Abuja. “Just imagine, the children abducted in the state of the president! It is not fair. Not good “.

It is not the first time the Islamist group has carried out mass abductions of students. In Chibok, in April 2014, she abducted more than 270 female students from a school in Borno state. A hundred of the girls are missing.

The kidnappings have highlighted that education is under attack in Nigeria, Amnesty International said.