Abuja, Nigeria- March 10, 2024
Nigeria grapples with a surge in abductions as over a dozen students and four women were seized from a school in Gada, Sokoto, intensifying fears and highlighting the persistent security challenges in the region.
According to local MP Bashir Usman Gorau, the abduction took place early on Saturday morning, with 15 students among those kidnapped.
This disturbing event comes in the wake of the army’s ongoing search for hundreds of schoolchildren abducted in the western town of Kuriga just days earlier.
In a glimmer of hope amidst the turmoil, the state governor, Uba Sani, informed that at least 28 children from the Kuriga abduction have managed to escape.
However, the traumatic incident, which saw 280 students taken, remains one of the largest mass abductions from a school since 2021.
The modus operandi of the perpetrators remains consistent, with armed men on motorbikes targeting both primary and secondary school children between the ages of eight and 15, leaving school authorities and parents in anguish.
Efforts to locate the missing children have intensified, with Nigerian troops collaborating with police and local search teams to scour forests within the state of Kaduna and neighbouring areas.
The scale of the crisis is underscored by the fact that almost every family in Kuriga is affected by the recent abductions.
Tragically, one pupil believed to be 14 years old, succumbed to injuries sustained during the abduction. The severity of the situation is further compounded by the recent kidnappings of women and children from a remote town in Borno state.
Governor Uba Sani pointed to the lack of adequate security presence as a primary factor contributing to the rise in abductions in the region.
In response, families of the abducted children have mobilized into vigilante groups, seeking assistance from neighbouring communities in their desperate quest for answers.
The gravity of the situation has prompted Vice President Kashim Shettima to visit Kaduna, where he is scheduled to meet with Governor Sani to discuss measures to address the escalating crisis.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu took to social media to reassure the nation, expressing confidence in the eventual rescue of the victims.
He affirmed, “Nothing else is acceptable to me and the waiting family members of these abducted citizens. Justice will be decisively administered.”
The recent mass abductions in Kaduna evoke haunting memories of the 2014 Chibok incident, where nearly 300 girls were taken in Nigeria’s northeastern region.
The pervasive sense of insecurity has left parents across northern Nigeria anxious about their children’s safety, resulting in a significant number of children being kept out of school.
While previous abductions in Kaduna have seen children reunited with their families following ransom payments, Nigeria enacted legislation in 2022 banning such payments and imposing harsh penalties, including death sentences, for abductors, underscoring the government’s commitment to combating this scourge.
As the nation grapples with the aftermath of yet another wave of abductions, the imperative for swift and decisive action to ensure the safe return of the kidnapped students and women looms large, underscoring the pressing need for sustainable solutions to Nigeria’s persistent security challenges.
This article was created using automation technology and was thoroughly edited and fact-checked by one of our editorial staff members
