Gunmen kidnapped 15 students from a school in Sokoto, Nigeria, following a similar incident where about 300 students were abducted in Kaduna on March 7, 2024.
The attackers entered the school in Gidan Bakuso village, firing shots that caused panic among the students.
School owner Liman Abubakar Bakuso confirmed the abduction, with the oldest student being 20 and the youngest below 13.
“The gunmen forced their way into the school premises in the Sokoto village and started firing shots sporadically, waking and causing panic among the students, who ran for cover,” said Liman Abubakar Bakuso.
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This alarming event adds to the ongoing security challenges faced by schools in Nigeria due to criminal gangs seeking ransom payments.
Police Spokesman speaks on the Bakuso village abductions
The gunmen in the latest attack invaded the Gidan Bakuso village of the Gada council area in Sokoto state at about 1 a.m. local time, police said.
Sokoto police spokesman Ahmad Rufa’i while speaking to the Associated Press (AP) stated that the gunmen headed to the Islamic school where they seized the children from their hostel before security forces could arrive.
Rufa’i further added that a police tactical squad was deployed to search for the students.
The inaccessible roads in the area, however, challenged the rescue operation, he said, adding: “It is a remote village and vehicle cannot go there; they (the police squad) had to use motorcycles to the village.”
Nigeria’s security forces are already under strain combating an Islamist insurgency in the northeast, leaving areas unpoliced and vulnerable to armed gangs.
The tactic of school abductions, initially associated with groups like Boko Haram, has now been adopted by criminal gangs seeking financial gain.
Despite efforts to address these security threats, incidents like these highlight the vulnerability of schools and students in certain regions of Nigeria.
Kaduna Abductions
In Kaduna, some kidnapped schoolchildren managed to escape their captors, but until this recent abduction, there had been a lull in mass kidnappings from schools since July 2021.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state noted that 28 of the previously kidnapped schoolchildren had managed to escape their captors, providing a glimmer of hope amidst these distressing circumstances.
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Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima, met with authorities and some parents of the abducted students in Kaduna state on Saturday, March 9 and assured them of efforts by security forces to find the children and rescue them.
These abductions have raised concern worldwide with the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken commenting on the matter.
In his official X account Secretary Antony Blinken spoke on the matter saying, “The reports of mass kidnappings of school children in Nigeria are reprehensible.”
“My heart is with the victims and their families. Those responsible for these horrifying attacks must be held accountable.” he further added.
