NEWS- Gunmen in Nigeria yesterday kidnapped more than 200 school children in the Northern Town of Kuriga in Kaduna State which is the biggest mass abduction from a school since 2021.
Police in Kaduna State did not respond to requests for comment on the abductions, which happened shortly after morning assembly at the Local Government Education Authority School in the Town of Kuriga.
A Teacher at the school identified as Sani Abdullahi said that the number of the kidnapped children from the Secondary section based on the statistics they took together with the parents is 187 while that of the primary section is 40 as for now.
The Local councilor for Kuriga Idris Maiallura said he had been to the school and said the gunmen initially took 100 primary school pupils but later freed them while others escaped and parents and residents blamed the kidnapping on lack of security in the area.
Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani visited Kuriga and promised to get the students released, but did not say how many pupils were missing and Amnesty International has called on Nigerian authorities to safely rescue the students and hold perpetrators to account.
The last major reported abduction involving school children in Kaduna State was in July 2021 when gunmen took more than 150 students in a raid but the students were re-united months later with their families after they paid ransoms.
Additional Reporting by Reuters
