Nigeria: Gunmen kidnap students in a new kidnapping operation

It is the third Mass kidnapping From an academic institution in northern Nigeria this year and police say they are working to rescue the students.

“The police and the army are at the helm of the situation. We are trying to communicate with the school administration to find out the exact number of students who have been kidnapped, and then to find out the possibility of rescuing them unharmed and apprehending the perpetrators,” a Kaduna police spokesman said. Mohammed Jalij said.

Gamilo Abdullah is a student in the college and told CNN that he heard the attackers shooting when they arrived around 3am.

Abdullah said that the gunmen had taken a direct line to the women’s hostel, even though the male dormitory was located near the fence from which they entered.

“We saw them and ran away … The bandits came and fired their weapons and took the girls,” he said.

While it is unclear how many students have been kidnapped, Abdullah said the number of girls who live in this hostel ranges from 80 to 100.

This kidnapping is the latest in a series of similar cases of kidnapping. More than 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped from a school in Zamfara state, also in northwest Nigeria, earlier this month.

At least 42 people were kidnapped from a state-run school last month in Cagara, Niger state Later releasedMore than 300 students were arrested and later released in December.

Kidnappings for ransom are rampant in parts of Nigeria and have become a major security challenge. State governors regularly pay ransoms to ensure victims’ safety, but they rarely admit it.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari recently Governors said to review “Their policy of rewarding the bandits with money and vehicles,” saying that this policy “could be counter-productive with potentially dire consequences.” Buhari also urged the governors to work hard to secure their schools.