Updated December 21st, 2020 at 08:33 IST
Nigeria: School boys abducted by Boko Haram reunite with parents
Over 330 schoolboys who were abducted by Boko Haram last week have been reunited with their parents after being in captivity for nearly a week
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Over 330 school boys who were abducted by Boko Haram last week have been reunited with their parents after being in captivity for nearly a week. Photographs of relieved parents have surfaced on the internet which show them hugging their sons in Kankara. Other set of parents met their offsprings in Katare, about 25 kilometers away, while the remaining met them in Katsina state.
“When I heard our boys were freed, I was full with joy and happiness because I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat,” Murjanatu Rabiu, a mother of one of the boys was quoted as saying by AP.
Read: Reax As Boko Haram Claims Kidnap Of Nigerian Students
Read: Nigeria's Boko Haram Rebels Release Video Of Abducted Boys
'I'll not go back to school'
While the parents were brimming with zeal, the schoolboys were filled with dread of their captors. According to AP, the schoolboys, many of whom returned wounded, said that Boko Haram had threatened them with death if they return to school. Boko Haram rebels claimed responsibility for the abductions, saying they attacked the school because they believe Western education is un-Islamic.
“The reason why I’ll not go back to school is because I am thinking if I go back to school the bandits will kill me and then I’ll not see my parents again,” said Usman. “That’s the reason why I will not go back again.”
Read: Boko Haram Claims Responsibility For Abduction Of 337 Nigerian School Boys
Read: Freed School Boy On Boko Haram Kidnap Ordeal
According to Nigerian authorities, armed gunmen on December 11 stormed the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Katsina state, and kidnapped over 400 students, which is half the number of children who attended the school on the day of the incident. As per reports, students escaped kidnapping by hiding in bushes and other areas.
The unidentified attackers are 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.
Image: AP
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Published December 21st, 2020 at 08:33 IST
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