Nigerian security forces on Thursday (September 2nd) announced the release of five high school girls who were among 73 students kidnapped the day before from a high school in northwest Nigeria, police said.
Heavily armed men, known locally as "
bandits
", kidnapped these students on Wednesday morning in the Kaya high school located in the vicinity of Maradun, in Zamfara state, the latest kidnapping in a long series targeting schools.
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Zamfara police spokesman Mohammed Shehu said in a statement Thursday that a joint security team has mobilized to rescue the hostages "
following the kidnapping of 73 students
." "
The current search and rescue mission is yielding positive results as five kidnapped students were rescued today,
" he said, without specifying whether a ransom had been paid for their release. "
The victims underwent a medical examination at the hospital, and were interviewed by the police before being reunited with their families,
" he added.
Zamfara authorities imposed nighttime traffic restrictions and primary and secondary schools were temporarily closed after the high school students were kidnapped.
Mass kidnappings, with ransom demands, in the north and center have become increasingly common in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country.
Nearly 1,000 students kidnapped in a few months
Since the beginning of the year, groups of armed men have stepped up kidnappings in schools and other educational establishments throughout the region, to demand ransoms from the relatives of the victims. Nearly 1,000 students were thus kidnapped in a few months, the vast majority of whom were subsequently released. States in the north and center of the country have long been plagued by serious security unrest, with criminal groups carrying out attacks, looting and mass kidnappings in remote rural areas. But incidents have intensified in recent months, sparking sharp criticism against authorities unable to restore order.
President Muhammadu Buhari, a former general first elected in 2015 and then re-elected in 2019, is under pressure due to growing insecurity, despite the deployment of the army that conducts ground operations and air raids to dislodge criminals . In recent days, four northwestern states, including Zamfara, have put in place restrictions aimed at stemming the violence, including restricting the movement of motorcycles, the sale of fuel, and suspending markets and the transport of livestock. .