For years, heavily armed criminal gangs in Nigeria's north have carried out kidnappings for ransom. The recent spate of kidnappings has led to the closure of schools across the country.

Abuja

A recent wave of kidnappings in northern Nigeria has prompted widespread school closures and heightened concern among parents and communities. Over the course of one week, armed groups abducted students and teachers from schools in Kibbe and Niger States, and attacked a church in Kwara State, resulting in deaths and hostages.

Authorities have responded by redirecting police resources from VIP protection to core policing duties, particularly in remote areas affected by the abductions. While some hostages have been rescued or escaped, many remain missing, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Nigeria's school kidnappings highlight lawlessness in north

At least these children are leaving by choice. Parents across Nigeria have rushed to primary and secondary schools in the wake of a series of armed abductions. We were sort of informed by the school yesterday that we should go and pick the children this morning for security reasons, which I understand actually because as a parent you can imagine our distress. The schools have been ordered to close because many lack sufficient security and are seen as soft targets for gangs of men who storm the premises and kidnap those inside. It's been a week of brazen attacks. Last Monday marked the first mass school kidnapping in more than 18 months. 25 students were taken from a girls' school in north-western Kibbe State. They are all still missing. The following day, gunmen stormed a Christian church in the state of Kwara, killing two people and taking 38 others hostage. They have since been rescued by security forces. Then, just three days later, one of the worst mass abductions the country has ever seen. 315 students and teachers disappeared from a Catholic boarding school in Niger State when armed men stormed the campus in the early hours of the morning. Over the weekend, slight relief. 50 of those children managed to escape their captors, but the majority are still missing. And I know that the security agencies, the government and other major stakeholders, including the diocese, are on top of the game, and we're just praying and hoping that these children will be rescued and returned back safely to their parents. No one has claimed responsibility for any of the three abductions, but for years, heavily armed criminal gangs have carried out kidnappings for ransom. Nigerian President Bula Tenubu held an extended security conference on Sunday where local media say it was decided around 100,000 police officers would be withdrawn from protecting so-called VIPs. They're being redirected to core policing duties, particularly in remote communities, like the ones still missing their children.

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