More states in northern Nigeria have mandated all schools to close following last week’s kidnapping of hundreds of pupils in Katsina state.
What We Know:
- More than 300 children are currently still missing, raising fears for other schools’ safety, especially those in isolated areas. Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, and Jigawa have imitated Katsina in closing schools following Friday’s attack.
- The Islamist militant group Boko Haram has mentioned it was behind the attack. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Union of Teachers has warned of a nationwide strike unless the government crucially improves the security situation.
- The union said shooters and kidnappers were actively targeting pupils and teachers. It said the attack was a sorrowful reminder of previous raids; many girls from Chibok, in northern Borno state, are still nowhere to be found six years after jihadists kidnaped them.
- Nigerian authorities state they have been in contact with the kidnappers in the recent disturbance, but there are no details of the conversations. Aminu Bello Masari, governor of Katsina Stae, wrote on Twitter on Monday: “Talks are ongoing to ensure the students’ safety and return to their respective families.” The jihadist group declared its claim of responsibility in a four-minute recording.
- However, the AFP news agency’s security and local sources mentioned Boko Haram had enlisted three local gangs to conduct the attack. One source stated the children had been taken across the border into Zamfara state and divided among different gangs “for safekeeping.” Some of the gangs have since been in contact with police over the release of the students.
- Boko Haram has targeted schools before due to its opposition to Western education, which it believes corrupts Muslims’ values. The group’s name translates to “Western education is forbidden.”
- Witnesses state the armed men came to the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara town when around 9:30 a.m. on Friday, many students jumped the school fence and escaped when they heard gunshots.
Many were tracked by the gunmen who fooled them into thinking that they were security staff, students who escaped had mentioned. Once the students were huddled up, they were taken into the forest by the armed men.
