Hundreds of Schoolchildren Kidnapped in Nigeria, Heightening Security Fears
KADUNA, NIGERIA – More than 300 schoolchildren have been kidnapped in two separate attacks across Nigeria this week, triggering widespread fear and renewing scrutiny of the country’s escalating security crisis.The abductions, occurring in Kaduna state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have prompted the temporary closure of schools nationwide.
The latest incident involved the kidnapping of an unknown number of students from a school in the FCT on Wednesday, following a mass abduction of over 280 students from schools in Kaduna state on Sunday. The Kaduna attacks targeted multiple schools in the Chikun local government area.
A staff member at St Mary’s school in Kaduna described hearing “serious bang, bang on different gates” before the attackers stormed the compound, according to a video shared by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). ”Children were crying,” she said,recounting her frantic search for keys while a security guard groaned in pain. The local Catholic diocese reported the attackers “operated aggressively and without interruption for nearly three hours, moving through dormitories.”
The abductions come more than a decade after Boko Haram jihadists kidnapped nearly 300 girls from Chibok in Borno state, some of whom remain missing.
Authorities have ordered the temporary closure of 41 schools in the FCT as a precautionary measure. Parents, like 40-year-old nurse Stella Shaibu, are expressing growing desperation. After collecting her daughter from a school in Bwari, near Abuja, Shaibu questioned how “300 students [could] be taken away at the same time?” and voiced frustration with the government’s response, stating, “If there is something that the American government can do to salvage this situation, I’m totally in support.”
A separate attack on Tuesday in western Nigeria saw gunmen kill two people and abduct dozens of worshippers during a church service broadcast online.
For years, Nigeria has been plagued by violence perpetrated by heavily armed criminal gangs who conduct mass kidnappings for ransom in rural areas, particularly in the northwest and central regions. While no group has claimed duty for the recent school abductions, bandit gangs are frequently suspected. These gangs, operating from a vast forest spanning several western states, are increasingly forming alliances with jihadist groups from the northeast, raising concerns among security analysts. Though primarily motivated by financial gain, this collaboration represents a growing threat to national security.
