Nigeria intensifies search for 25 abducted schoolgirls

More than 11 years ago, Boko Haram fighters abducted 276 girls from their schoolhouse successful the municipality of Chibok.

Security forces successful northwest Nigeria are intensifying their efforts to find the 25 schoolgirls abducted by gunmen successful an early-morning raid connected their schoolhouse this week.

Police said men equipped with rifles stormed Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School successful Kebbi State’s Maga municipality astir 4am section clip (03:00 GMT) connected Monday, arriving connected motorcycles successful an seemingly well-planned attack.

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The attackers exchanged gunfire with constabulary earlier scaling the perimeter obstruction and abducting the students. The assailants killed the school’s vice main during the attack.

No radical instantly claimed work for abducting the girls, and their information was unclear.

On Tuesday, information teams swept adjacent forests wherever gangs often hide, portion others were deployed on large roads starring to the school.

Kebbi Governor Nasir Idris visited the schoolhouse connected Monday and assured of efforts to rescue the girls, and Lieutenant-General Waidi Shaibu, Nigeria’s main of service unit met with soldiers successful the hours aft the onslaught and directed “intelligence-driven operations and relentless day-and-night pursuit of the abductors,” according to an service statement.

“We indispensable find these children. Act decisively and professionally connected each intelligence. Success is not optional,” Shaibu told troops during a sojourn to Kebbi connected Tuesday. “You indispensable proceed time and nighttime fighting.”

He urged the soldiers to “leave nary chromatic unturned” successful the hunt for the schoolgirls.

Monday’s raid was the 2nd wide schoolhouse abduction successful Kebbi successful 4 years, pursuing a June 2021 incidental erstwhile bandits took much than 100 students and unit members from a authorities college.

Those students were released successful batches implicit 2 years aft parents raised ransoms. Some of the students were forcefully joined and returned with babies.

At slightest 1,500 students person been kidnapped crossed the state since members of the Boko Haram equipped radical abducted 276 girls from their schoolhouse successful the municipality of Chibok connected April 14, 2014.

In March 2024, much than 130 schoolchildren were rescued aft spending much than 2 weeks successful captivity successful the Nigerian authorities of Kaduna.

Kidnapping draws ire from Trump supporters

While Kebbi State constabulary told quality ligament AFP connected Tuesday that the abducted schoolchildren were each Muslim, supporters of US President Donald Trump person seized connected the calamity to embolden their assertion that Christians are nether attack successful Nigeria.

“While we don’t person each the details connected this horrific attack, we cognize that the onslaught occurred successful a Christian enclave successful Northern Nigeria,” Republican Representative Riley Moore wrote connected X.

Trump has threatened to invade Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” implicit what right-wing lawmakers successful the US allege is simply a “Christian genocide“.

Nigeria has rejected the US president’s statements, saying the country’s assorted information crises person near much Muslims dead.