A group of gunmen abducted 317 girls from a boarding school in northern Nigeria on Friday, police said, the latest in a series of mass abductions of West African students.
Police and the army have launched joint operations to rescue minors after the attack on the Jangebe Village High School for Girls, according to Mohamed Shehu, a Zamfara State police spokesman who confirmed the number of abducted minors.
Nasiru Abdulahi, one of the parents, told The Associated Press that his daughters, aged 10 and 13, are among the abducted girls.
“It is disappointing that although the armed forces have a strong presence near the school, they have failed to protect the girls,” he said. “At this time, we have only hope in divine intervention.”
According to Musa Mustafa, a resident of the area, gunmen also attacked a military camp and a nearby checkpoint, preventing soldiers from intervening while the attackers spent several hours at school. It is unknown at this time what caused the deaths.
Several large groups of armed men operate in Zamfara state and are known to carry out kidnappings to collect ransoms and secure the release of their members in return. The government considers them bandits.
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Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said on Friday that the government’s main objective is to recover all the abducted girls alive and unharmed.
“We will not give in to the blackmail of bandits and criminals who attack innocent students in anticipation of large ransom payments,” he said. “We will not let bandits, kidnappers and terrorists have the illusion that they are stronger than the government. We should not confuse our measure to achieve humanitarian goals of protecting innocent lives with a weakness or a sign of fear or indecision.
The President also called on state governments to review their policies for making payments, in cash or by vehicle, to bandits.
“We are outraged and saddened by another brutal attack on Nigerian students,” said Peter Hawkins, a UNICEF representative for the United Nations Children’s Agency in the country.
“This is a serious violation of children’s rights and a horrible experience for them,” added Hawkins, who called for their immediate release.
The West African nation has witnessed several such attacks and abductions in recent years. Most notable was the abduction of 276 girls from Chibok High School in Borno State by the Islamist Boko Haram militia in April 2014. More than a hundred of them remain missing.
About two weeks ago, gunmen abducted 42 people, including 27 students, at the Government Scientific College in Kagara, Niger. Students, teachers and family members are still being held.
In December, 344 students were abducted from the Kankara Government Science High School in the Katsina region and later released.
Anietie Ewang, a researcher at the human rights group Human Rights Watch in Nigeria, recalled the latest incidents on Twitter: “Energy action is needed by the authorities to stop the tide and keep schools safe.”