More than 300 students went missing after armed men attacked and abducted schoolboys from the Government Science Secondary School on Friday night. At the time of the attack, the boys` school in Kankara housed more than 600 students studying at the institution. When the gunmen attacked, the school police engaged them in a gunfight, allowing at least half the learners to scale the school’s fence and run for safety.
Abducted Schoolboys Taken to Zango/Paula Forest
Parents who still haven’t seen their kids grow with anxiety as they have been missing for three days now. Parents to the hundreds of children fear the worst has befallen their children. Even the authorities don’t know what happened to their children. One parent Salish Masi told reporters he has nothing else to live for. The gunmen abducted his two sons during the attack at their school in Katsina State in northern Nigeria. Another parent Mustapha Gargaba told the associated press that he remains worried. Mr. Mustapha still does not know what has happened to his son.
However, this Saturday, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari announced that the authorities had located the bandits’ hideout. The President said a joint rescue operation had already been launched. The Nigerian police, army, and the air force would retrieve the children. President Buhari also added that the military was already engaged in gunfights with the abductors. The authorities tracked the gunmen to the Zango/Paula forest in Nigeria.
Armed Groups Operation in Nigeria
Numerous armed groups operate in northwestern Nigeria, where the Katsina state is located. While a couple of groups attack schools in the area, the only groups known for abducting children for ransom include Boko Haram or the Islamic State’s West Africa Province. The Islamic State’s West African Province, also known as ISWAP, was formed as a breakaway faction of the Boko Haram jihadist group in Nigeria.
The two jihadist groups have carried out numerous attacks and mass abductions of students in Nigeria. According to Amnesty International, the bandits have managed to kill over 1,100 people in the first half of this year. The most severe attack the jihadists ever carried out took place in April 2014. The Jihadists abducted more than 217 schoolgirls from their dormitory at the Government Secondary School in Chibok in northeastern Borno State. To this date, around 100 girls abducted in 2014 are still missing.
With the recent abduction of students at the boys’ school in Kankara, no group had claimed responsibility for the attack. But this week, Tuesday, the Boko Haram group released audio with a message from a man identifying himself as the leader of the Boko Haram.
In the audio, the man purporting to lead the Islamic group Abubakar Shekau said the group kidnapped more than 300 students from an all-boys school in Katsina. Abubakar added that Boko Haram attacked in Katsina to promote Islam and discourage un-Islamic practices. The Boko Haram group believes that Allah and his holy prophet do not permit it. Boko Haram has not released any video footage of the missing boys to confirm claims.
More:
