Taken girls returned, but shots mar reunions
JANGEBE, Nigeria — Hundreds of Nigerian girls abducted from a boarding school in the country’s northwest last week were returned to their families as chaos broke out when security forces opened fire on a gathering outside the school where the reunions were held Wednesday.
One person died and two were injured in the mayhem, according to media reports. The forces opened fire after stones were thrown at government officials, apparently in frustration at the drawn-out procedure, the reports said.
Anxious and angry parents who were reunited with the girls after six days of waiting grabbed their daughters and left after shots rang out. Many were worried about traveling on the dangerous roads at night.
The girls, 10 and older, had been abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe in Nigeria’s northwest Zamfara state and were released Tuesday after negotiations. Zamfara Gov. Bello Matawalle said 279 girls had been freed.
The girls were taken to the government’s provincial offices in Gusau for presentation, before being medically examined and reunited with their families.
After the kidnappings, the Zamfara state government announced a curfew, which remains in force.
Officials said “bandits” were behind the abduction, referring to the armed groups who operate in Zamfara state and kidnap for money or to press for the release of their members from jail.
At the time of the attack, one resident told The Associated Press that the gunmen also attacked a nearby military camp and checkpoint, preventing soldiers from responding to the abductions.
Nigeria has seen several such attacks and kidnappings in recent years, the most notorious in 2014, when 276 girls were abducted by the jihadi rebels of Boko Haram from the secondary school in Chibok in Borno state. More than 100 of those girls are still missing.
Last week’s attack took place less than two weeks after gunmen abducted dozens of people, including 24 students, from the Government Science College Kagara in Niger state. Those students, teachers and family members were released last week.
In December, 344 students were abducted from the Government Science Secondary School Kankara in Katsina state. They were eventually released.