Father of freed girl in Nigeria: It's like being born again 2:22
(CNN) -
At least one million Nigerian children could stop going to school this year as the new period begins amid a surge in mass school kidnappings and insecurity, the United Nations agency for childhood (UNICEF).
Preview (opens in a new tab) Schools have become the target of mass kidnappings for ransom in northern Nigeria by armed groups.
Such abductions in Nigeria were carried out first by the jihadist group Boko Haram and later by its branch of the Islamic State of the West African Province, but the tactic has now been adopted by criminal gangs.
READ: What is Boko Haram? Story of a bloody insurgency
So far, there have been 20 attacks on schools in Nigeria this year, with more than 1,400 children abducted and 16 killed, UNICEF said, adding that more than 200 children are still missing.
Empty classroom of the Government Science School where gunmen abducted dozens of students and staff, in Kagara, Rafi local government, Niger state, Nigeria, on February 18, 2021.
"Students are deprived of their education ... while families and communities continue to fear sending children to their classrooms due to the series of school attacks and kidnappings of students in Nigeria," said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF representative. in Nigeria.
More than 37 million Nigerian children are due to start the new school year this month, Unicef said.
advertising
An estimated eight million have had to wait more than a year for in-person learning after schools closed due to COVID-19.
Insecurity also led to the closure of schools in Nigeria.
Several northwestern states have tried to stem the avalanche of kidnappings by banning the sale of fuel in drums and the transportation of firewood in trucks in order to break up gangs that ride motorcycles and camp in remote locations.
In Abuja, the Nigerian capital, the start of the school term has been unexplainedly delayed to an unusually late date, after schools in nearby states were attacked by kidnappers seeking ransom.
More than 300 people in chains rescued in Nigeria 0:57
Mobile network providers in the state of Zamfara were ordered to shut down communications for two weeks "to allow relevant security agencies to carry out the activities required to address the security challenge in the state," the Committee of Nigerian Communications in a Letter.
The directive came after at least 73 students were abducted from a state high school in the Maradun district of Zamfara.
All those students have been released.
Military authorities carried out targeted raids on the hideouts of kidnappers and other criminal gangs in the state, who are known locally as 'bandidos'.
kidnapping children