One million Nigerian children are at risk of being unable to attend school due to threat of violence, after a series of mass kidnappings and attacks on students this year, the United Nations agency said. childhood (Unicef) Wednesday September 15.
Over 37 million Nigerian children are due to start the new school year this month, but
"this year is being stolen from around one million Nigerian children as insecurity threatens their safety and education,"
he said. Unicef representative in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins, said in a statement.
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According to Unicef, there have been 20 attacks on schools in Nigeria this year, more than 1,400 students have been kidnapped and 16 have died.
Kidnapped by criminal gangs in the northwest and central states of the country, most were freed after negotiating ransom, after weeks or months of captivity, often in appalling conditions in rural camps.
About 200 are still missing.
“Families and communities continue to fear sending children back to their classrooms due to the wave of attacks on schools and kidnappings
,
”
according to Unicef.
Some state governments have temporarily closed schools after kidnappings.
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The northwestern and central states of the country have long been plagued by violence between pastoralist and nomadic farming communities who compete for land and water.
Attacks have intensified with the emergence of heavily armed criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, who loot villages, steal livestock and kidnap for ransom.
This year, these gangs have targeted schools and colleges in northwest Nigeria, kidnapping students and taking them to hiding places in the woods while they negotiate payments.
About 70 students kidnapped almost two weeks ago were released this week in Zamfara state, in the northwest of the country, where the army has launched an offensive against the kidnapper gangs.
