Nigeria: School children rescued after weeks in captivity
After more than 130 schoolchildren were abducted from their school in Nigeria, two weeks later they have been rescued by the military, according to Euronews and AFP.
The children, aged 12 and under, were captured from the LEA Primary School Kuriga by motorcycle-riding gunmen on the 7th of March. The abduction triggered a wide-range rescue operation.
Teacher Nura Ahmad stated that the gunmen “came in dozens, riding on bikes and shooting sporadically.” She continued saying “They surrounded the school and blocked all passages … and roads” to prevent help from coming before marching the children away in an operation that lasted less than five minutes.
“We don’t know what to do, but we believe in God,” said heartbroken Mother, Rashidat Hamza, whose 5 of her 6 children were among the abducted.
Last week, the gunmen demanded a ransom equivalent to $690,000 in exchange for the release of the students and staff.
The government said it would not pay any ransom after doing so was legally banned in 2022.
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The children were eventually rescued by the military in a forest about 200 kilometres (more than 120 miles) to the north in neighbouring Zamfara state.
Ahead of their anticipated reunion with their families, they were returned to their homes in the remote Kaduna state town of Kuriga on the 25th of March after enduring two weeks in captivity.
Originally, school authorities had told the state government that a total of 287 students were kidnapped during the attack. However, Kaduna Governor Uba Sani stated that only 137 people were confirmed to be seized, 6 of whom remain in hospital.
A senior military official stated that one staff member who was abducted with the children had died while in captivity.
Once rescued, the students were brought to the Kaduna State Government House. They had fresh haircuts and newly sewn clothes and footwear, the first change of clothes since their abduction on the 7th.
Sani stated that “what is more important is the security of our children” after refusing to provide details of the rescue or if any suspected kidnappers were arrested.
He concluded that the “issue of insecurity” in the African nation should not be politicised.
Unfortunately, this abduction is not a first for Nigeria. Since the 2014 Chibok kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls by Boko Haram militants, which sparked the global #BringBackOurGirls social media campaign, at least 1,400 Nigerian students have been seized from their schools in similar circumstances. Some are still in captivity including nearly 112 of the Chibok girls.
Euronews and AFP.
