25 women kidnapped from highschool in Nigeria

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Gunmen attacked a highschool in northwestern Nigeria earlier than daybreak on Monday, taking 25 schoolgirls and killing at the least one staffer, authorities mentioned of the newest abduction of scholars within the area.

No group instantly claimed accountability for abducting the women from the boarding college in Kebbi state and their motivation was unclear.

Nigeria is going through a multidimensional safety problem, particularly from amorphous teams of armed bandits who focus on kidnapping for ransoms — generally totalling 1000's of {dollars} — and have been accountable for a number of high-profile abductions throughout Nigeria's northern area.

Kidnappings, assaults on villages and alongside main roads have grow to be frequent due to the restricted safety presence.

'Refined weapons' The bandits usually are not believed to be linked to militant teams corresponding to Boko Haram or the splinter group Islamic State West Africa Province, whose assaults on communities and authorities installations are motivated by faith.

Police mentioned the schoolgirls have been taken from their dorms at 4 a.m. native time Monday. The varsity is in Maga, within the state's Danko-Wasagu space, police spokesperson Nafi'u Abubakar Kotarkoshi mentioned.

<img loading="lazy" alt="Men in uniforms carrying guns stand around a white vehicle with lettering that says Schools Protection Squad" srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/038b1d51-27db-46d7-9ee9-7c6764069f40,1763416045075/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C3652%2C2434%29%3BResize%3D805 805w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/038b1d51-27db-46d7-9ee9-7c6764069f40,1763416045075/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C3652%2C2434%29%3BResize%3D1104 1104w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/038b1d51-27db-46d7-9ee9-7c6764069f40,1763416045075/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C3652%2C2434%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) 93.6vw,730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/038b1d51-27db-46d7-9ee9-7c6764069f40,1763416045075/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C3652%2C2434%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.5004108463434676" data-cy="image-img"/> Law enforcement officials stand guard exterior the varsity the place kids have been kidnapped by gunmen Monday. (Deeni Jibo/The Related Press) The assailants have been armed with "refined weapons" and exchanged hearth with guards earlier than abducting the women, Kotarkoshi mentioned.

"A mixed workforce is at the moment combing suspected escape routes and surrounding forests in a co-ordinated search and rescue operation aimed toward recovering the kidnapped college students and arresting the perpetrators," the spokesperson mentioned.

Kotarkoshi mentioned one particular person was killed and one other was injured, however a resident who mentioned his daughter and granddaughter have been kidnapped within the raid believes the demise toll stands at two.

"We have been instructed that the attackers entered the varsity with many bikes. They first went straight to the instructor's home and killed him earlier than killing the guard," mentioned Abdulkarim Abdullahi Maga.

Police didn't reply to an Related Press name searching for affirmation of a second demise.

Armed teams have focused college kids within the area since 2014, when Boko Haram kidnapped 276 college students from Chibok in Borno state. That abduction marked the start of a brand new period of worry, and dozens stay in captivity.

WATCH | Kidnapped college students launched in 2021: Kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls launched

A gaggle of 279 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped at gunpoint have been launched. However mass abductions for ransom are on the rise, and the federal government is beneath growing stress to make them cease. Because the Chibok abductions, at the least 1,500 college students have been kidnapped, as armed teams more and more discover in abductions a profitable option to fund different crimes and management villages within the nation's mineral-rich however poorly policed area. In March 2024, greater than 130 schoolchildren have been rescued after spending greater than two weeks in captivity within the Nigerian state of Kaduna.

Nonetheless, raids on faculties have subsided lately as state governments applied safety measures in sizzling spots, together with closing faculties for an prolonged time frame.