Gunmen abducted students in northwest Nigeria

At least 10 students from the Government Secondary School in Kaduna state were abducted during an attack in northwest Nigeria, reports said.

“The exact location of the incident is yet to be ascertained but detailed reports being awaited will clarify whether the incident occurred within the school premises or elsewhere,” said Samuel Aruwan, the state commissioner of security.

Abductions of students from schools in northern Nigeria are common and have become a growing concern since 2014 when Islamic extremists kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls in Borno state.

“More than 1,000 students were kidnapped from schools in the northwest and north central regions in 2020 and 2021,” according to a United Nations report last year.

Most of the gunmen are thought to be young men who are ethnic Fulani, a largely Muslim group of semi-nomadic herders who have been embroiled in conflicts with communities over access to land and water.

Nigeria security forces ramped up military operations targeting the gun men’s hideouts, the government’s still struggling to quell the insurgency.