LAGOS, Nigeria - Gunmen abducted 317 girls from a boarding school in northern Nigeria on Friday, police said, the latest in a series of mass kidnappings of students in the West African nation. Unidentified gunmen seized 317 schoolgirls in northwest Nigeria on Friday, police said, the second such kidnapping in little over a week in a region increasingly targeted by militants. Teachers, school staff and their family members were among those abducted. Armed with AK-47s, the gang stormed the Government Science secondary school in Kankara district on Friday night, police and locals said. Kidnapping for ransom in Africa’s most populous country is already a widespread national problem, with businessmen, officials and citizens snatched from the streets by criminals looking for ransom money. However, Matawalle told Al Jazeera the total number of kidnapped students was 279. Police in Nigeria have launched a search and rescue operation for 317 girls kidnapped from a school in the state of Zamfara. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Violence and insecurity across Nigeria have enraged citizens, particularly after scores of farmers were killed, some beheaded, by Islamist militants in northeast Borno state late last month. Police at the scene on Friday exchanged fire with the attackers, allowing some students to run for safety, police spokesman Gambo Isah said in a statement. The boys were later released but the incident triggered outrage and memories of the kidnappings of 276 schoolgirls by the Boko Haram armed group in Chibok that shocked the world. Why kidnappings are becoming increasingly frequent in Nigeria ? At least $11m was paid to kidnappers between January 2016 and March 2020, according to SB Morgen, a Lagos-based geopolitical research consultancy. The children were abducted from the Government Girls' … Hundreds of girls have been kidnapped in Nigeria after armed gunmen stormed a secondary school. Thousands of Nigerians have fallen victim of the crime and have had to pay millions of dollars in ransom for their freedom. President Muhammadu Buhari has been under increasing pressure as his military struggles to resolve Nigeria’s security problems. It is simple – by creating more jobs. The kidnappings … Some of these schools are not even fenced and they are close to bushes where criminal elements operate from,” Eguegu said. Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) Hundreds of schoolgirls who were kidnapped at gunpoint from their boarding school in Nigeria have been released, authorities said. Gunmen who kidnapped scores of high school students in Nigeria's northwestern Katsina state have exchanged fire with military forces trying to rescue them, the country's president said Saturday. Armed bandits kill people, burn down houses in villages of Kaduna and Katsina states. I was really afraid of being shot,” She added. No ransom was paid to anyone. The girls' kidnapping was the latest in a series of mass abductions from Nigerian schools Organised armed groups, locally called bandits, often abduct students for money. On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 mostly Christian female students were kidnapped from the Secondary School by the Muslim Islamic terrorist group "Boko Haram" in the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. JANGEBE, Nigeria (AP) — Families in Nigeria waited anxiously for news of their abducted daughters after more than 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped by gunmen from a government school in the country’s north last week, the latest in a series of mass school kidnappings in the West African nation. These kidnappings are low risk and high reward for the kidnappers. “Everybody fled and there were just two of us left in the room. One officer was shot and wounded in the exchange of fire with the gang, they said. I told her ‘get up!’ so we can run away, she said ‘I swear to God, I will not leave the bed’. 26 Feb 2021 Police and the military were still working to determine how many were kidnapped and missing. The kidnapping are often violent and resistance always result in the death of victims. The kidnapping evoked painful memories of the abduction of almost 300 schoolgirls from Chibok, northeast Nigeria by Boko Haram in 2014. The current wave of abductions across the country makes every person a potenti… Condemning the attack in his home state, President Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement that the military had located the kidnappers in a forest and was exchanging fire with them, aided by air support. A parent and school employee said that roughly half of the school's 800 students were missing. Nigeria - Kidnapping rate. Kidnapping in Nigeria: How It’s Been Happening. Gunmen kidnap over 300 girls in Nigeria school raid: Police, Nigeria: Kidnappers free 53 people seized on bus, Gunmen kill 36 in attacks in northern Nigeria, Lawyer defends trial of reporter arrested covering BLM protests, What to watch as Indo-Pacific ‘Quad’ leaders meet for first time, US, Israel hold talks on Iran nuclear diplomacy, security threats, China search engine Baidu aims to raise $3bn in Hong Kong listing, Sarah Everard: Missing woman’s case sends UK into shock, How Portugal silenced ‘centuries of violence and trauma’, Tanzania’s leader ‘receiving coronavirus treatment in India’, Syria: Oil refinery attacks raise fears of ‘grave escalation’, Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights. A parent and school employee told Reuters that roughly half of the school's 800 students were missing. On Friday, 344 schoolboys who had been kidnapped from their boarding school in … Boko Haram is opposed to western education and its fighters often target schools. Heavily armed criminal gangs in north-west and central Nigeria have stepped up attacks in recent years, kidnapping for ransom, raping and pillaging, exploiting a lack of rural security. Government officials had been in talks with the kidnappers – referred to as “bandits” – following Nigeria’s third school attack in less than three months. The description is composed by our digital data assistant. Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris, reporting from Zamfara state capital, Gusau, said many parents wept when they found out about the release of their children. The Niger Delta region is a rich source of Nigeria’s income as an oil-rich state. Nigeria has seen several such attacks and kidnappings in recent years, most notably the mass abduction in April 2014 of 276 girls from a secondary school in Chibok by Boko Haram. I initiated a peace accord which yielded a positive result. “The Zamfara peace accord remains the backbone of the success we have recorded so far. I insisted that we were not going to give anything to any of them,” Matawalle told Al Jazeera. These children were recovered through dialogue,” he told reporters, adding that more details of the incident and police response would be released later. Only around half of the girls initially kidnapped … More than 100 of those girls are still missing. On Friday, police said 317 girls were abducted in the raid by more than 100 gunmen on the Government Girls Secondary School in remote Jangebe village. It is the second mass kidnapping in Nigeria's Katsina state in eight days. Kidnapping for ransom is one of the biggest organised or gang crime in Nigeriaand is seen as a national security challenge. Ovigwe Eguegu, geopolitical and security Analyst at Afripolitika, a security think-tank, told Al Jazeera that kidnappers are targeting schools because they are a soft target. Katsina is plagued by violence the government attributes to bandits - a loose term for gangs of outlaws who attack locals and kidnap for ransom. They were shooting endlessly. Buhari, who arrived on Friday for a week in his home village some about 125 miles from Kankara, was scheduled to brief the national assembly on the security situation last week, but cancelled the appearance without official explanation. Recent kidnapping in Nigeria can also be traced to the year 2006 when the militants of the Niger Delta region took people, hostage, as a means of protestation against the inequality of the government in the region. At that stage they were pointing guns at our heads. Heavily armed criminal gangs in northwestern and central Nigeria have stepped up attacks in recent years, kidnapping for ransom, raping and pillaging. The gangs are largely driven by financial motives and have no known ideological leanings. One the girls told reporters early on Tuesday how the kidnapping took place. A child born to one of the girls and believed by medical person… Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) Hundreds of schoolgirls were abducted in the early hours of Friday when armed men raided a state-run school in Zamfara State, northwest Nigeria, a … Kidnapping is seen as lucrative business and the shortest means to wealth by those involved in this crime. Women, children among those released, but dozens of others taken in a separate incident are still missing. A total of 42 people including 27 students, kidnapped from a boarding school in Kagara in the north-central state of Niger 10 days ago, have been … It is very concerning. - What we do know - Niger state where the incident occurred shares a boundary with … Gunmen kidnap over 300 girls in Nigeria school raid: Police Police confirm the abduction of at least 317 girls from school in Zamfara state, second kidnapping in more than a week. IE 11 is not supported. Hundreds of high school students kidnapped in Nigeria, gang in firefight with military A parent and school employee said that roughly half of the school's 800 students were missing. Over 40 people were kidnapped, including at least 26 students, state officials and local media reported. The kidnapping business is mostly perpetrated by violent groups pursuing political agendas and criminal gangs. Poverty pushes many citizens into doing immoral things, one of which is kidnapping. Nigeria has seen several such attacks and kidnappings over the years, notably the mass abduction in April 2014 by jihadist group Boko Haram of 276 girls from a … Attacks by Islamist militants are common in northeastern parts of the country. Bello Matawalle said on Tuesday the nearly 300 students were safe with authorities and that no ransom had been paid for their release. The Government Science secondary school was attacked by armed bandits, in Nigeria's northwestern Katsina state. We got out of our beds and people said we should run, that they are thieves,” she said. In Nigeria, kidnapping is not only centered on financial reasons as people in various parts of the country have been reported to have been kidnapped for ritual purposes, political reasons, rape, religious, amongst others. The Nigerian military deployed to the area in 2016 and a peace deal with bandits was signed in 2019 but attacks have continued. The cases are opportunistic. Authorities in northern Nigeria have confirmed that bandits — and not Boko Haram Islamists — kidnapped the now-rescued 344 schoolboys a week ago in Kankara. When people have the option to work hard and honestly, they will not partake in dishonest activities. The governor said the students were being taken to a health facility for medical examination. “There was a huge amount of relief for the parents, students and the state government. The other girl is from my town. “We were sleeping at night when suddenly we started hearing gun shots. Zamfara state police commissioner Abutu Yaro said a government-led peace process had resulted in the girls’ release. 279 Kidnapped Nigerian Schoolgirls Released by Their Captors Girls receiving medical checkups in Zamfara state capital, being reunited with their families By Timothy Obiezu How can the Nigerian government solve this problem? The rate of unemployment in the country is one great cause of kidnapping in Nigeria. NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro discusses the growing industry with Bulama Bukarti, an analyst with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. BAUCHI/KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Unidentified gunmen killed a student in an overnight attack on a boarding school in the north-central Nigerian state of Niger on Wednesday and kidnapped … The operation comes as 42 people kidnapped from a boarding school in a similar incident last week in Niger state were released. Kidnappings in Nigeria are happening almost daily. ABUJA, Nigeria — Gunmen raided a boarding school in northwestern Nigeria early Friday and kidnapped more than 300 girls, marking the third mass abduction of … Bandits have often taken to kidnapping … In December, more than 300 boys were kidnapped from a school in Kankara, in Buhari’s home state of Katsina, while the president was visiting the region. The kidnapping business in Nigeria has been mostly perpetrated by criminal gangs and violent groups pursuing political agendas. Nigeria kidnapping rate was at level of 0.3 cases per 100,000 population in 2013, down from 0.4 cases per 100,000 population previous year, this is a change of 6.96%. The abduction is the latest in a series of mass kidnappings of students in the West African nation Gunmen abducted 317 girls from a boarding school in northern Nigeria … Some have described their capture in appearances at international human rights conferences. Nigeria has seen several such attacks and kidnappings in recent years, the most notorious in 2014, when 276 girls were abducted by the jihadist rebels of Boko Haram from the secondary school in Chibok in Borno state. “Today, we have received the children who were under captivity since Friday. At least 30 people were kidnapped and a dozen others killed in a series of attacks in northwest Nigeria, witnesses told AFP Thursday, hours after the president had replaced his military commanders. In a tweet, President Buhari said he was “pleased that their ordeal has come to a happy end without any incident”. Police said they would deploy additional forces to support the search and rescue. Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics. But there are concerns they are being infiltrated by rebel groups. Zamfara state spokesman Sulaiman Tanau Anka told Reuters news agency some of the missing girls had run into the bush at the time of the assault, confirming the number of those kidnapped was 279. Zamfara state governor tells Al Jazeera 279 girls, who were kidnapped on Friday, are safe, as President Buhari expresses joy at their release. The girls were abducted on Friday … Kidnappers have released all the girls abducted from a boarding school in the northwestern Nigerian state of Zamfara on Friday, the governor told Al Jazeera, as President Muhammadu Buhari expressed “overwhelming joy” over the news. “We have seen far too many cases in such a short time. Some of the girls are less than 11 years old,” Idris said. It took days of negotiations with what the government calls repentant bandits to bring the girls back. 57 of the schoolgirls escaped in the months following the incident, while others were rescued by Nigerian military forces on several occasions since. Police confirm the abduction of at least 317 girls from school in Zamfara state, second kidnapping in more than a week. Authorities told us it was difficult to secure the release.