Nigeria: Gunmen kidnap students in new abduction

This is the third mass abduction of an academic institution in Northern Nigeria this year and police say they are rescuing the students.

“The police and the army are aware of the situation. We are trying to contact the school management to know the exact number of pupils who were abducted and then to see the possibility of rescuing them unharmed and arresting the perpetrators.” said the Kaduna police spokesperson. Mohammed Jalige said.

Jamilu Abdullahi is a college student and told CNN he heard the attackers shoot when they arrived around 3 p.m.

Abdullahi said the gunmen made a line for the female residence, even though the men’s dormitory is closer to the fence where they entered.

“We saw them and ran away … the bandits come and shoot their guns and take the girls away,” he said.

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

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

At least 42 people were abducted and later released in a state-run school in Kagara, Nigeria, last month, and more than 300 schoolboys were taken in December and later released.

Kidnapping for ransom is rampant in parts of Nigeria and has become a major security challenge. State governors regularly pay ransoms to secure the safety of victims, but rarely admit that they do.

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

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