Jihadists in northeastern Nigeria have long outraged the world with mass abductions of schoolchildren but now armed gangs in search of income are using the same tactic in other parts of the country, sparking warnings that no school is safe.
More than 300 schoolgirls were snatched from dormitories by gunmen in the middle of the night in Zamfara state on Friday, in the third known mass kidnapping of students since December.
Until lately, such attacks were the hallmark of jihadists who have waged a decade-long insurgency in the northeast, and where the kidnap of 276 girls in Chibok in 2014 sparked global outrage.
But mass abductions of civilians — including schoolchildren — for ransom are now on the rise in northwest and central Nigeria.
“The easiest way to get money from the government is now to kidnap schoolchildren,” warned Idayat Hassan, director of the Abuja-based Centre for Democracy and Development think tank, after the abduction of 27 students last week in…
Source: Vanguard Newspaper
