CASE STUDIES |NIGERIA : THE MASS ABDUCTION OF SCHOOLCHILDREN

On 11^th December 2020, Boko Haram fighters raided the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, kidnapping over 300 male students.^[1] The terror organization claimed responsibility for the attack citing Boko Haram’s opposition to Western-style education. On 18^th December, the Nigerian military freed the abducted students. The governor of Nigeria’s Katsina State, Aminu Masarithe, claimed that no ransom had been paid.^[2]

On 17^th February 2021, gunmen wearing military uniforms entered the Government Science College, at Kagara, in the Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, and kidnapped 27 people, including students, teachers, and their family members.^[3] They were released on 27th February.

On 26^th February 2021, approximately 300 girls were kidnapped from a government-run boarding school in the town of Jangebe. According to local sources, “they came on about 20 motorcycles and they marched the abducted girls into the forest.”^[4] The girls were released on 2^nd March. The Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, denied paying a ransom, but later President Buhari “admitted state governments had paid kidnappers ‘with money and vehicles’ in the past and urged them to review the policy.”^[5]

The most recent attack, the third mass abduction of students in three months, brings the total number of people kidnapped to more than 600 since December 2020.^[6] State authorities claim jihadi motivation is not considered as a principal element in the kidnappings. According to statements, the attacks on schools in the northwest “have been carried out by ‘bandits’, a loose term for kidnappers, armed robbers, cattle rustlers, Fulani herdsmen and other armed militia”,^[7] principally for financial gain. Yet some observers note that the escalation in mass abductions indicates a cooperation between Boko Haram and Fulani militants and that, in fact, these have attacks have a profound religious component.^[8]  The Sultan of Sokoto stated: “Make no mistake, the abduction is a classic example of the philosophical foundation of Boko Haram – that western education is forbidden. That’s why their targets are always on boarding schools, especially science schools, considered atheistic in pedagogy.”^[9]

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