In the northwest of Nigeria, local “bandits” have once again attacked Kuriga school in the Kaduna region, kidnapping nearly 300 students on Thursday, March 7th. On the same day, around 100 women were reported missing.
Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna visited the Kuriga community, the majority of which the abducted children belonged to from the local school. According to witnesses, at least 187 secondary school children were taken by armed men, along with 125 primary school students – with 25 of them managing to escape. Teachers are also among those missing.
In recent years, mass abductions targeting schools have been recurrent in the Kaduna region. Local armed groups also frequently target farmers or travelers venturing outside of cities. Families are often left to negotiate with these bandits themselves and subsequently pay the ransoms demanded.
In the eastern region of Nigeria, in Borno State plagued by jihadist violence for over a decade, the security situation is equally alarming. On Thursday, March 7th, authorities confirmed the abduction of dozens of women in the Ngala region, a locality near the Cameroonian border: at least 100 women who went to gather firewood never returned to the displaced persons’ camp where they lived.
Despite the persistent presence of Boko Haram jihadists and ISWAP (Islamic State in West Africa) in the region, local authorities began in 2021 to repatriate displaced populations to their original villages.