If the story of the kidnapping was quiet for a while, the assailants have taken it up again. This has become a daily occurrence for Nigerians. More than 70 students of a secondary school in the northwest of Nigeria were kidnapped on Wednesday, September 1, 2021, according to the police. According to reports, gunmen carried out the attack.

The attackers entered the school on Wednesday morning, which was located in the vicinity of Maradun, Zamfara State. They later abducted 73 students, the state police spokesman said in a statement.

Middle and high school students have been frequent victims of kidnapping since the beginning of the year in Nigeria.  They are the main targets of the attackers. The attackers demand ransoms as hostages from the victims' relatives. According to reports, nearly 1,000 students have been kidnapped in recent months.

Some of them have been released after being held by the assailants for a few weeks. However, dozens of students have not been so lucky and are still in the hands of the attackers.

As a reminder, in mid-August, 18 students from an agricultural college in Zamfara were abducted. Fortunately, they were released last week.  In May, about 100 children were kidnapped from an Islamic seminary in Niger State. Another attack took place in July at a Baptist school in Kaduna State. During this period, 32 students were abducted by the attackers. They were released by the attackers in recent days.

Insecurity reigns in the country even though the army is deployed in the regions because criminal gangs have set up camps there. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari fears this.

As a precautionary measure, the authorities in Zamfara State have imposed restrictions on road travel at night. For example, primary and secondary schools have been temporarily closed, according to the state's Minister of Information, Ibrahim Dosara. 

Santie

Photo Credit : LSi Africa

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