Nigeria school kidnapping: Who’s behind it, why were children targeted?

Gunmen person kidnapped hundreds of students and teachers from 2 schools successful Nigeria successful the worst lawsuit of abductions since much than 270 girls from Chibok municipality were snatched from their schoolhouse successful 2014.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said connected Sunday that 50 pupils had escaped and had been reunited with their families days aft they were abducted from a Catholic schoolhouse successful cardinal Niger state.

So what bash we cognize astir the latest abductions? And wherefore are children being targeted by equipped groups?

What happened?

Gunmen abducted 303 children and 12 teachers during an onslaught connected Saint Mary’s Catholic School successful Nigeria’s north-central Niger state, according to CAN, the largest Christian organisation successful the country. Local media reported that the abductions and onslaught took spot connected Friday successful Niger’s distant Papiri area.

Those kidnapped included some antheral and pistillate students aged 10 to 18, said Reverend Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, the president of CAN’s Niger chapter. Yohanna visited the schoolhouse field connected Friday.

The onslaught took spot conscionable days aft gunmen targeted the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School successful the neighbouring Kebbi state’s Maga town, 170km (106 miles) away, and abducted 25 schoolgirls.

No radical has claimed the caller acts of abductions.

How galore children are inactive missing, and what is the presumption of the rescue operation?

Fifty of the children escaped captivity connected Friday and Saturday and person been reunited with their families.

This means that 253 children are inactive being held by kidnappers. The 12 teachers who were kidnapped are besides inactive successful captivity.

The Nigerian authorities said tactical squads, alongside section hunters, person been deployed to rescue the children and schoolhouse staff.

Who is down the kidnappings?

No radical has claimed work for the kidnapping.

Ibrahim M Ndamitso, a writer who has been pursuing this communicative precise closely, told Al Jazeera that the incidental took spot successful the northbound of Niger, which has “predominantly suffered banditry enactment successful caller times”.

Ndamitso, who is based successful Minna, the superior of Niger state, added that the bandit groups person made “it a transit constituent astir the northbound of Niger, taking animals, stealing people’s cows, picking radical for ransoms and each of these things”.

Bulama Bukarti, a information expert and a Nigerian quality rights lawyer based successful London, told Al Jazeera that specified kidnapping attacks, particularly successful the northwest and the north-central parts of Nigeria, are carried retired for economical motives.

“What these gangs bash usually is to support these children successful captivity for weeks, sometimes months, and extort ransoms from either their families oregon from the government,” Bukarti said.

“These ransoms tin tally into hundreds of dollars, hundreds of thousands of dollars earlier releasing them.”

Are these kidnappings religiously motivated?

It is unlikely.

Cases of kidnapping, particularly for ransom, are connected the emergence successful Nigeria. However, they are carried retired by amorphous groups of equipped bandits.

These bandits bash not look to beryllium affiliated with immoderate spiritual oregon equipped groups specified arsenic Boko Haram oregon the ISIL affiliate successful West Africa Province (ISWAP), whose attacks are motivated by a sectarian agenda.

As of 2020, Muslims made up a bulk of Nigeria’s population, accounting for 56.1 percent of the population, portion Christians comprised 43.4 percent, according to estimates by the Pew Research Center.

The caller abductions person brought backmost the representation of the wide kidnapping of girls from Chibok, Nigeria, dozens of whom are inactive missing astir 12 years later.

Armed group Boko Haram kidnapped 276 pistillate students from Chibok successful Borno authorities successful April 2014. Some of the kidnapped were Muslims. Many captives were encouraged to person to Islam, portion others were forced to articulation Boko Haram oregon to wed fighters from the group.

Between 2016 and 2017, the Nigerian subject rescued oregon secured the merchandise of 108 girls done captive exchanges, and astir 20 others escaped successful the past 2 years. As of past year, astir 90 of the girls abducted successful Chibok inactive stay missing.

More than 1,400 Nigerian students person been kidnapped since 2014. The caller kidnapping lawsuit is the 13th specified incidental successful the past 11 years, Bukarti, the information expert and lawyer, told Al Jazeera.

Are Christians being targeted successful Nigeria?

Christian farming communities person been facing accrued attacks successful cardinal Nigeria from bandits and cattle herders. They person accused the authorities of failing to apprehension perpetrators and supply security.

The caller attacks connected schools and some churches person drawn the attraction of US President Donald Trump, who has claimed that Nigeria’s Christians are facing genocide. He has threatened United States subject involution successful Nigeria, alleging that the state is failing to support Christians from persecution. He besides threatened to chopped assistance to Nigeria.

“If the Nigerian Government continues to let the sidesplitting of Christians, the USA volition instantly halt each assistance and assistance to Nigeria, and whitethorn precise good spell into that present disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to wholly hitch retired the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump wrote successful a societal media post.

Pope Leo XIV has besides called for the merchandise of the kidnapped students.

“I marque a heartfelt entreaty for the contiguous merchandise of the hostages and impulse the competent authorities to instrumentality due and timely decisions to guarantee their release,” the pope said connected Sunday.

Nigeria’s authorities has admitted to a information problem, but has denied the claims that Christians are being persecuted.

The authorities has dubbed immoderate of the attacks, attributed to the mostly Muslim Fulani pastoral taste group, a “local farmer-herdsmen crisis”.

Christian groups successful Nigeria person besides rejected the assertion that religion was the sole crushed down the attacks and kidnappings. The Christian Association of Nigeria said that overseas groups were looking to exploit home crises.

How is the authorities responding?

On Friday, Nigeria’s authorities ordered 47 colleges crossed the state to adjacent immediately. Additionally, the determination authorities of Niger authorities has ordered each schools, whether backstage oregon public, to beryllium closed down, Ndamitso said.

“Hundreds of schools are closed close now, and truthful our children’s acquisition volition beryllium interrupted,” Bukarti said. “It is precise unfortunate due to the fact that this indicates that the Nigerian acquisition strategy is nether attack.”

On Sunday, during a gathering with information chiefs, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu ordered the hiring of 30,000 much constabulary officers. He additionally ordered that constabulary officers beryllium removed from VIP extortion services truthful that they tin absorption connected halfway duties, particularly successful distant areas that are prone to attacks.

The authorities has besides declared that Nigeria’s curate of defence volition beryllium deployed to Niger State, Ndamitso noted.

Nigeria is plagued by information problems arsenic Boko Haram is waging a deadly rebellion successful the northeast and arsenic transgression gangs run successful the northwest. The state has besides been racked by communal violence.

More than 10,000 radical person been killed and hundreds kidnapped since Tinubu was elected president successful 2023. As galore arsenic 3 cardinal radical stay displaced by the violence.