Tired, hungry and dizzy – schoolchildren released from Nigeria arrived home on Friday (December 18th) after being rescued from their captors.
As they got off the buses in Katsina, many of them looked barefoot and wrapped in blankets after a week of trying.
People armed with motorcycles attacked the government’s scientific high school in the city of Kankara in Katsina state – and more than 300 of them were paraded in a vast forest.
Authorities say security services rescued them on Thursday.
However, many details about the incident remain unclear, including who was responsible, whether a ransom was paid, how the boys were released, and whether everyone is now safe.
A boy, who did not give his name, said the kidnappers told him to describe them as members of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram – although he suspected they were armed bandits.
Speaking on Arise Television in Nigeria, he said, quoting: “They beat us in the morning, every night. We suffered a lot.”
Another told Reuters that they had barely been fed.
“They hid us all in the same place when they took us at the beginning, but when they saw a fighter plane, they changed the location and hid us in another place. They gave us food, but it was very little.”
The abduction encompassed a country already ravaged by widespread insecurity.
It brought back painful memories of the 2014 abduction of Boko Haram by more than 270 schoolchildren in the northeastern city of Chibok.
Any involvement of Boko Haram in this abduction in Katsina State would mark a geographical expansion in its activities – from its base in northeastern Nigeria.
Video transcription
– Tired, hungry and dizzy, the boys released from Nigeria arrived home on Friday, after being rescued from kidnappers. As they got off the buses in Katsina, many of them looked barefoot and wrapped in blankets after a week of trying.
People armed with motorcycles attacked the government science school in the city of Kankara in the state of Katsina, and more than 300 of them were paraded in a vast forest. Authorities say security services rescued them on Thursday.
However, many details about the incident remain unclear, including who was responsible, whether a ransom was paid, how the boys were released and whether everyone is safe now.
A boy who did not give his name said the kidnappers told him to describe them as members of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, although he suspected they were armed bandits.
Speaking on Arise Television in Nigeria, he said, quoting: “They beat us in the morning, every night. We suffered a lot.” Another told Reuters that they had barely been fed.
– [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
INTERPRETER: They hid us all in the same place when they took us to the beginning, but when they saw a fighter plane, they changed the location and hid us in another place. They gave us food, but it was very little.
– The abduction covered a country already plagued by widespread insecurity. It brought back painful memories of the 2014 abduction of Boko Haram by more than 270 schoolchildren in the northeastern city of Chibok. Any involvement of Boko Haram in this abduction in Katsina State would mark a geographical expansion of its activities at its base in northeastern Nigeria.