LAGOS, Nigeria – Gunmen have abducted 317 girls from a boarding school in northern Nigeria, police said, the latest in a series of mass abductions of students in the West African nation.
Police and the army have started joint operations to rescue the girls after the attack on the girls’ high school of science in Jangebe town, according to a Zamfara state police spokesman, Mohammed Shehu, who confirmed the kidnapped number.
One parent, Nasiru Abdullahi, told the Associated Press that his daughters, aged 10 and 13, were among the missing.
“It is disappointing that although the army has a strong presence near the school, they have not been able to protect the girls,” he said. “At this stage, we hope only for divine intervention.”
Resident Musa Mustapha said gunmen also attacked a military camp and a nearby checkpoint, preventing soldiers from intervening while gunmen spent several hours at school. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.
Several large groups of armed men operate in Zamfara state, described by the government as bandits, and are known to kidnap for money and the release of their members from prison.
“We are outraged and saddened by another brutal attack on Nigerian schoolchildren,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF’s representative in the country. “This is a serious violation of children’s rights and a horrible experience that children have to go through.” He demanded their immediate release.
Nigeria has seen several such attacks and abductions over the years, most notably the April 2014 mass abduction of the Boko Haram jihadist group of 276 girls at Chibok High School in Borno State. More than a hundred girls are still missing.
Friday’s attack came less than two weeks after gunmen abducted 42 people, including 27 students, from Government Science College Kagara in Niger. Students, teachers and family members are still being held.
In December, 344 students were abducted from the Kankara High School of Government Sciences in Katsina State. They were eventually released.
Anietie Ewang, a Nigerian researcher at Human Rights Watch, noted the recent abductions and wrote on Twitter that “strong action is needed on the part of the authorities to change the tide and keep schools safe.”
Amnesty International also condemned the “terrible attack”, warning in a statement that “abducted girls are at serious risk of being injured”.
Teachers have been forced to flee to other states for protection and many children have been forced to drop out of school amid frequent violent attacks in communities, Amnesty said.