Gunmen abduct 287 students in the latest school attack in Nigeria’s northwest, headteacher says

Gunmen attacked a school in Nigeria's northwest region and abducted at least 287 students, the headteacher told authorities, marking the second mass abduction in the West African nation in less than a week. Photo / AP

Gunmen attacked a school in Nigeria’s northwest region today and abducted at least 287 students, the headteacher told authorities, marking the second mass abduction in the West African nation in less than a week.

Abductions of students from schools in northern Nigeria are common and have become a source of concern since 2014 when Islamic extremists kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls in Borno state’s Chibok village. In recent years, the abductions have been concentrated in northwestern and central regions, where dozens of armed groups often target villagers and travellers for huge ransoms.

Locals told the Associated Press the assailants today surrounded the government-owned school in Kaduna State’s Kuriga town just as the pupils and students were about to start the school day about 8am.

Authorities had said earlier that more than 100 students were taken hostage in the attack. However, headteacher Sani Abdullahi told Kaduna Governor Uba Sani when he visited the town that the total number of those missing after a headcount was 287.

People gather around an area where gunmen kidnapped school children in Chikun, Nigeria. Photo / AP

“We will ensure that every child will come back. We are working with the security agencies,” the governor told villagers in the area, which is 89km from the capital.

No group claimed responsibility for the latest attack, though blame fell on armed groups that mostly constitute herders who have been accused of carrying out violent attacks and kidnappings for ransom after decades-long pastoral conflict with host communities.

Security forces arrived with the governor several hours later as a search operation widened, while community members and parents gathered to wait for news.

People gather where gunmen kidnapped school children in Chikun, Nigeria today. Photo / AP

The attack occurred days after more than 200 people, mostly women and children, were abducted by extremists in northeastern Nigeria.

Women, children and students are often targeted in the mass abductions in the conflict-hit northern region and many victims are released only after paying huge ransoms.

Observers say both attacks are a reminder of Nigeria’s worsening security crisis which resulted in the deaths of several hundred people last year, according to an AP analysis.

Bola Tinubu was elected President of Nigeria last year after promising to end the violence. But there has been “no tangible improvement in security situation yet” under Tinubu, said Oluwole Ojewale, West and Central Africa researcher with the Africa-focused Institute for Security Studies.