In Nigeria, end of the ordeal for kidnapped students

Thirty students kidnapped in March by a heavily armed commando in northern Nigeria have been released, welcomed Wednesday (May 5th) the Nigerian president, criticized for his inability to stop attacks by criminal gangs practicing mass kidnappings. “We are happy that they have been released. We would like to thank all the actors who contributed to this happy outcome ”, reacted President Muhammadu Buhari in a statement.

A total of 39 students were abducted on March 11 from their university in the northwest of the country, in the city of Kaduna. A first group of ten students was found by security forces in the weeks following the attack, but the last 29 students missing were held captive for nearly two months.

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“The police command informed the government of Kaduna state of the release of the last students” kidnapped on March 11, announced earlier Samuel Aruwan, Minister of the Interior of Kaduna State.

Mass kidnappings in schools are on the rise in northern and central Nigeria, the work of Islamist groups or locally called criminal gangs “Bandits” seeking ransoms or having established links with these armed groups.

Terrorized populations

Nigerian authorities do not give details of the circumstances of the students’ release or a possible ransom. The families of the students kidnapped in Kaduna had demonstrated in Abuja this week to demand their release.

These armed bands terrorize the populations, pillaging villages, stealing livestock and carrying out mass kidnappings for ransoms. For several months, these “Bandits” carry out mass abductions in schools and universities in rural areas, where some 730 children and adolescents have been kidnapped since December 2020. These attacks have disrupted the studies of more than five million children, according to Unicef.

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Authorities deny paying any ransom to secure the release of the 29 students, which comes days after the death of a gang leader who led the kidnapping of hundreds of students in northern Nigeria, killed during a armed clash with a rival gang.

On April 20, around 20 students were again kidnapped from a university in Kaduna State and one academic staff member was killed in the attack. Five of the abducted students have since been executed.

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa with more than 200 million inhabitants, is plagued by multiple conflicts, between a jihadist insurgency in the northeast, attacks by criminal gangs practicing mass kidnappings in the north-west and those of separatists targeting security forces in the south-east.

At least 30 people were killed on Monday in an attack by fighters linked to the Islamic State group on a garrison. The Nigerian military has expressed its support for President Muhammadu Buhari, who has been criticized from all sides for his inability to stem insecurity in the country.

The World with AFP