The schoolgirls were taken from their shelters by gunmen who attacked the girls high school of the Jangebe city government, a senior government official with knowledge of the incident told CNN.
According to the source, a police officer died in the attack, who did not want to be named as he was not allowed to speak in the records.
“They got on about 20 motorcycles and the kidnapped girls left in the woods,” the source said. “The bandits arrived at around 1.45 in the morning and worked until three in the morning
“The saddest thing is that there is a military checkpoint that is about four minutes from the school,” he added.
There are usually about 500 students in the boarding school, of whom about 315 were taken by the gunmen. Others managed to escape and return to their hostels, the source said.
A state police spokesman told CNN that a detailed statement would be posted as they picked up what happened. He declined to comment on the number of students abducted in the incident.
On Friday, the force said in a statement that a “very armed” joint search and rescue operation had been launched.
The bewildered parents of some schoolgirls spoke to CNN on Friday, and one said their daughter was apparently taken in pajamas.
“My daughter is one of those who took me away because I saw things left behind,” Jafai Haruna, mother of Hafsat Abubakar, told CNN.
“I think they took her away only in her sleepwear because I found her hijab and her school uniform.”
“I miss her so much. No one has told me anything about her daughter’s whereabouts. She has always been with me. Her father died when she was still pregnant with her. Now I don’t know what to do,” he said. dir Haruna. .
Narama Umar’s niece, 14-year-old Asmau Lawali, is also among the missing.
“The government should help get our daughters back. There were a lot of parents in school crying. That’s very sad, we want our daughters back,” Umar told CNN.
Another resident, Safiyanu Jangebi, told CNN he heard gunshots at the time of the abduction and described how viewers clashed with police at the scene.
“There are cops all over the school, the young people are angry and now they are throwing stones at the police. There was also the governor’s wife. They also threw stones at her singing ‘Allah will punish you’ and ‘We will not forgive you.’ “Jangebi said.
Amnesty International said the incident amounted to a “war crime”.
The latest abduction comes just two weeks after at least 42 people, including students, were abducted in a similar raid on a public school in the state of Niger, in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria. One student was killed in the attack, while 27 students, three teachers and nine family members were abducted. Its current whereabouts are unknown.
UNICEF on Friday was concerned about reports of the attack overnight.
“We are angry and saddened by another brutal attack on Nigerian schoolchildren,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria.
“This is a serious violation of children’s rights and a horrible experience that children can go through, which could have lasting effects on their mental health and well-being. We fully condemn the attack and call on those responsible to release the girls immediately and for the government to take steps to ensure their safe and secure freedom for the rest of Nigeria’s schoolchildren. “
“Children should feel safe at home and at school at all times, and parents should not worry about the safety of their children when they are sent to school in the morning,” Hawkins said.
Many parents are concerned about the safety of their children in schools in northern Nigeria.
The most important of the school abduction cases in the country was that of the Chibok schoolgirls who were abducted by Boko Haram in April 2014.