There were more than two hundred, according to some witnesses at least 280, children between the ages of 8 and 15 kidnapped yesterday during a raid on a school in north-west Nigeria, a teacher and local residents said, in what is one of the largest mass kidnappings in Nigeria. Village.
Kidnappings for ransom are common in Africa's most populous country, where heavily armed criminal gangs have targeted educational institutions in the past, especially in the northwest, although such attacks have eased recently.
Local government officials in Kaduna State confirmed the attack on the Kuriga school but did not provide figures as they were still trying to work out how many children had been abducted.
At least one person was killed in the attack, local residents said.
Sani Abdullahi, one of the teachers at GSS Kuriga school in Chikun district, said staff managed to escape with many students when gunmen attacked the building yesterday morning, firing gunshots into the air.
The story illustrates the complex security challenge facing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who after taking office in May promised to make Nigeria safer and bring in more foreign investment.
Thursday's abduction also comes nearly a decade after Boko Haram jihadists sparked international outrage by kidnapping more than 250 schoolgirls from Chibok, northeast Nigeria.
Some of those girls are still missing.
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