Gunmen have kidnapped more than 300 students and teachers in one of the largest mass kidnappings in Nigeria, a Christian group said on Saturday, as security fears mounted in Africa’s most populous nation.
The early Friday raid on St Mary’s co-education school in Niger state in central Nigeria came after gunmen on Monday stormed a secondary school in neighbouring Kebbi state, abducting 25 girls.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had earlier reported 227 people seized, but the new number came “after a verification exercise” following the early Friday mass kidnapping, and added that “The total number of victims abducted … is now 303 students and 12 teachers”.[AFP]
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More than 300 children and staff are now thought to have been kidnapped by gunmen from a Catholic school in central Nigeria, making it one of the worst mass abductions the country has seen.
ReplyDeleteThe Christian Association of Nigeria said 303 students and 12 teachers were taken from on St Mary's School in Papiri, Niger state - substantially more than previously estimated.
It said the figures have been revised upwards "after a verification exercise".
The kidnapping comes amid a surge of attacks by armed groups. The revised number of people taken surpasses the 276 abducted during the infamous Chibok mass abduction of 2014.