Fears for 150 after school raid in Nigeria

KADUNA, Nigeria — Fears are held for the safety of around 150 students after gunmen raided a boarding school in northwestern Nigeria, an administrator said on Monday.

The kidnappers’ attack on the Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna state began late on Sunday night, and police said 27 of those abducted have been rescued.

The raid marks the 10th mass school kidnapping since December in northwest Nigeria, with the authorities attributing the attacks to armed bandits seeking ransoms.

Dozens of distraught parents gathered at the Bethel Baptist school compound, with many weeping as they awaited news. Discarded sandals lay strewn nearby. Dormitories containing metal bunk beds and cupboards were deserted.

Kaduna officials ordered the immediate closure of 13 schools after the incident.

Closure ordered

Umma Ahmed, an official in charge of education affairs in the state, said in a statement that the schools ordered for were believed to be vulnerable to attacks.

Police said that in the latest attack, the gunmen began shooting wildly upon their arrival and overpowered the school’s security guards. They took the students into a nearby forest.

A police statement said that, of the 27 people rescued, one was a female teacher.

Reverend John Hayab, a founder of the school, told Reuters that by his count, about 25 students had managed to escape.

About 180 students attend the school and had been sitting exams, according to Hayab, whose 17-yearold son escaped, and a parent, Hassana Markus, whose daughter was among those missing.

Nigerian police said they have yet to determine the exact number of those missing.

Residents told Reuters that security officials had cordoned off the school after the attack, which took place between 11 pm on Sunday and 4 am on Monday morning.

Armed groups have made an industry out of kidnapping students for ransom in northwest Nigeria, with Kaduna state particularly hard hit. They have taken nearly 1,000 people from schools since December last year, and more than 150 of the captives remain missing.

Kidnappers have even targeted hospitals. In the early morning hours of Sunday, gunmen abducted six people, including a 1-year-old, from a hospital in Kaduna.

In February, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari urged state governments “to review their policy of rewarding bandits with money and vehicles”.