Nigeria: Gunmen kidnap students in a new kidnapping

This is the third mass abduction of an academic institution in northern Nigeria this year and police say they are working to rescue the students.

“The police and the military are at the forefront of the situation. We are trying to contact the school management to find out the exact number of students abducted and then see the possibility of rescuing them unharmed and arresting them. the perpetrators, ”Kaduna police spokesman Mohammed Jalige said.

Jamilu Abdullahi is a college student and told CNN he heard the attackers firing when they arrived around three in the morning.

Abdullahi said the gunmen made a phone line for the female hostel, although the male dormitory is closer to the fence through which they entered.

“We saw them and ran away … the bandits who fired their guns came and took the girls away,” he said.

While it is unclear how many students were abducted, Abdullahi said the number of girls living in the hostel was between 80 and 100.

This abduction is the latest in a series of similar abduction cases. More than 300 schoolgirls were abducted from a school in Zamfara state, also in northwestern Nigeria, earlier this month.

Last month, at least 42 people were abducted from a public school in Kagara, Niger State, and then released, and more than 300 schoolchildren were arrested and released later in December.

Rescue hijacking is common in some parts of Nigeria and has become a major security challenge. State governors regularly pay ransoms to ensure the safety of victims, but rarely admit to doing so.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari recently told state governors to review “his policy of rewarding bandits with money and vehicles,” saying the policy “could backfire with potentially disastrous consequences.” Buhari also urged governors to work hard to secure their schools.

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