Parents of abducted children in Nigeria are left with no updates

In the small Nigerian community of Papiri, the worried and terrified parents of 300 children who were abducted from a local Catholic school say they have received no updates on their whereabouts.

According to Africa News Via AP on November 26, the parents say that the government is keeping them in the dark about rescue efforts, as no group has made any demands or come forward to claim responsibility the kidnapping. Amid this lack of information, the confirmation by local authorities that 50 of the students have managed to escape may offer a scrap of relief.

Tabita, a mother and a Papiri resident, said expressively, “What affects me the most [is that] every day I am depressed, no food, every day crying and fasting. Bring back our children, please.”

Tabita is one of many parents who have experienced the deep pain of their child going missing. For some, the pain is too unbearable, with local officials stating that two parents have died since the kidnapping, with one due to a heart attack.

At the dusty school compound in Papiri, parents gathered to offer support and comfort. Ejeh is the father of Matthew, one of the children who was kidnapped. He said that his wife fainted when she found out their son was taken.

“It is painful. Matthew is a very kind boy who dreams of becoming a football player. He is after football day and night,” Ejeh says.

Elizabeth Samuel, another parent affected by the kidnapping, says that her son is still missing as he was not amongst the children who escaped from captivity.

“I was told that he was helping the younger one to escape through the fence, and it was during that process that he was kidnapped. We are very sad, especially myself, he is my last son from the family.” Elizabeth said.

Nigerian authorities have launched a rescue party, revealing that helicopters and troops have been deployed to secure the release of the remaining children in captivity.

Nigeria has seen a surge in armed school kidnapping attacks recently. On November 17, armed men attacked a high school in the north-western Kebbi state, abducting 25 school girls from their dorm at a boarding school.

Kidnappings do not exclusively target schoolchildren either. In June, a priest was kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists, a crime which left the local community in shock and fear.

Africa News Via AP, Maghrebi.org