Gunmen attacked a school in northwestern Nigeria on Thursday and
kidnapped at least 100 students
just as classes were about to start, residents and authorities told The Associated Press.
Authorities are still trying to confirm the exact number of abducted students, but “it is much more than 100,” said Salasi Musa, council leader of the Chikun region in Kaduna state, where the incident occurred.
Abductions of students from schools in northern Nigeria are common and have become a cause of concern since 2014, when Islamic extremists
kidnapped 200 schoolgirls in Chibok
, a village in Borno state.
In recent years, kidnappings have been concentrated in the center and northwest, where armed groups tend to kidnap villagers and travelers to demand money.
The attackers attacked the public primary school in Kuriga, Chikun, shortly after the 8 a.m. morning assembly, and took the youth away before any help could arrive, said Joshua Madami, a youth leader in the area. .
The attackers "surrounded the school on all sides and took away almost 200 students," Madami added.
Source: AP
P.B.