Ransom probably motive

227 children kidnapped from school in Nigeria

(Bild: Associated Press)

Gunmen have attacked a school in north-western Nigeria and abducted more than 200 children, according to local residents and a teacher. Local authorities in the state of Kaduna confirmed the abduction of children from the school in Kuriga on Thursday. However, they stated that they had not yet determined the number of abductees. According to local residents, at least one person was killed in the attack.

Sani Abdullahi, one of the teachers of the school in Chikun district, said during a visit by representatives of the sub-state that the employees of the school could have escaped with many students when the perpetrators attacked and fired into the air early on Thursday. According to their counts, however, more than 280 children are still missing.

Governor promises: "No child will be left behind"
Local resident Muhammad Adam also told the AFP news agency that more than 280 people had been abducted. Other residents spoke of around 200 abducted people. Police and other authorities did not provide any information on the number of abductees. "At this stage, we cannot say how many children or students have been abducted," the governor of Kaduna, Uba Sani, told reporters in Kuriga on Thursday. "No child will be left behind."

Pictures from the village after the mass abduction:

(Bild: Associated Press)

(Bild: Associated Press)

(Bild: Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Amnesty International: "Schools should be places of safety"
On Thursday, it became known that dozens of people were missing in the north-east of the country after a mass abduction by jihadists. The human rights organization Amnesty International condemned the kidnappings in Kaduna and called on the Nigerian authorities to take steps to prevent attacks on schools. "Schools should be places of safety and no child should have to choose between their education and their life," the organization stated in the online service X.

Kidnappings are a major problem in Nigeria. In addition to the jihadists in the north-east, Africa's most populous country has to contend with criminal gangs in the north-west and violence between communities in the center of the country. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was elected last year with the promise to do something about the poor security situation in Nigeria. According to critics, however, not much has been done since then.

Hundreds of schoolchildren and students have been abducted in mass kidnappings in the north-western and central regions of Nigeria in recent years - including in Kaduna. After weeks or months in hidden forest camps, almost all of them were released after a ransom was paid.

At the end of February, a mass abduction of internally displaced persons had already taken place in the north-eastern state of Borno. According to United Nations estimates, more than 200 people were abducted. An exact number of those abducted was not known in this case either.

Since 2014, the Islamist terrorist militia Boko Haram and criminal groups have abducted numerous women and children in the north of Africa's most populous country with around 220 million inhabitants. This involves either extortion of ransom money, forced recruitment into armed groups or sexual violence. Almost exactly ten years ago, in April 2014, the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from their boarding school in the town of Chibok caused worldwide horror. Many of the girls are still missing.