Gunmen kidnap 300 girls in raid on school in Nigeria

HUNDREDS of girls were kidnapped by gunmen from a boarding school in northern Nigeria yesterday, in the second mass abduction in little over a week.

Reports described how the unidentified gang stormed the town of Jangebe, in Zamfara state, at around 2am and snatched more than 300 girls, aged 12 to 17, from the Government Girls Secondary School.

Boko Haram, the Islamist group, has previously claimed responsibility for school kidnappings, but as of last night, no group had declared itself.

Last week at least 40 people, including 27 students, were abducted in a similar raid on a state school in Niger state, 500km south of Zamfara. The captives are yet to be released.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a resident who lives near the school in Jangebe said hundreds of bandits drove into the town on Toyota Hilux pick-up trucks and scores of motorcycles, firing guns into the air.

“A first batch went into the school premises, posing as security personnel as some wore the uniforms of security forces,” the resident said.

“The second batch followed, going to the dormitories and taking the girls away, as they screamed for help.” The resident said some local vigilantes tried to repel the attack, but were overwhelmed by the heavily armed gunmen.

A surge in violence in Nigeria’s north-west has led to a deteriorating situation. In December, bandits in Katsina kidnapped at least 300 boys.

Teacher and student unions have said they are prepared to close schools, as students and teachers are no longer safe. Critics have called on Muhammadu Buhari, the president elected in 2015 on a promise to resolve the country’s security failures, to quit. (© Telegraph Media Group Ltd 2021)