Gunmen kidnapped more than 200 school children from a town in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna state on Thursday, members of the community have said.
The attack, on the Local Government Education Authority School in Kuriga, took place shortly after morning assembly.
Home economics teacher Sani Abdullahi said 187 secondary school students and 40 primary school students were missing.
A local councillor said 100 children had initially been taken from the primary school but some were later freed while others escaped.
Iliyasu Mohammed is a village head in Kuriga.
“How can these gunmen come and take our children, this is the reason why I am so sad.”
Kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs have become endemic in northern Nigeria, disrupting daily lives and keeping thousands of children from attending school.
In Kuriga, parents and residents blamed the abduction on a lack of security in the area. One parent said local vigilantes had tried to repel the gunmen but had been overpowered. Kaduna state Governor Uba Sani visited Kuriga and promised to get the pupils released.
Police in Kaduna did not respond to a request for comment. The last major reported abduction involving school children in Kaduna was in July 2021. Then gunmen took more than 150 students.
Those children were reunited with their families months later, after ransoms were paid.
