Nigeria: 1 killed, over 40 abducted after gunmen attack school

Gunmen have attacked a school in Nigeria's north-central Niger State, killing at least one student and abducting over 40 in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State. According to the reports by AP, one student has been killed and there are reports of 40 people including students and teachers being abducted. The school’s head prefect, Awal Abdulrahman, said that the gunmen chased the students across the school and shot one of them in the head as he tried to escape. 

Students abducted in Nigeria

Local media reported that the gunmen are thought to be bandits. “They attacked the first two houses (hostels) by the wall … They entered the house and chased students who tried to escape … They followed us shooting and in the process shot one of us in the head”, said Awal. A teacher informed that the gunmen entered the school premises at about 1:30am dressed in military camouflage. They forced him to lead them to the students’ sleeping quarters.

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Aliyu Isah said, “They put me in front to lead them to the school hostel ... They told the students not to worry, that they were soldiers,” he said, adding that some wore camouflage, army uniforms, and one wore a black coat”. He added, “They gathered all the students outside but some ran into the bush,” he said. “I was thinking I would not be able to escape but luckily enough, Allah gave me a way to escape from them and I assisted the students that we were tied together ... I ran toward the football field and they started shooting”. 

This comes two months after gunmen abducted more than 300 schoolboys from a secondary school in Kankara, Katsina State. These students were released later. Earlier, the United Nations condemned the abduction of hundreds of children students. UNICEF said that it is "deeply concerned" about the acts of violence still taking place in Nigeria, adding the latest abduction is a grim reminder of widespread violations of children’s rights in the country. 

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The unidentified attackers were reportedly using the same tactics as members of another terrorist group called Boko Haram, who on several occasions in the past have attacked schools and villages to kidnap young children as part of their recruiting strategy. The attack on the all-boys boarding school is believed to have been carried out by bandit gangs, most probably with the same motive of recruiting. Amnesty International also called on the Nigerian government to safely and immediately rescue the students, while condemning the attack on the school.

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(Image Credits: AP)