An expert states that the recent mass abductions from schools in Nigeria demonstrate a lack of government control.

March 11, 2024 Benjamin Hughes

10 years

Over the last decade, there have been over 17 instances of mass abductions in Johannesburg. According to regional security analyst David Otto, this is a dismal achievement for both the country and its government, indicating a complete breakdown of the social agreement.situation in Nigeria

The majority of those injured in these assaults are female, and targeting women is equivalent to attacking society as a whole. The recent attacks, which resulted in the abduction of over 200 individuals, demonstrate that despite decades of battling insurgency, the government has been unsuccessful in safeguarding society from terrorist organizations.

mass abduction in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna state

Armed men abducted boys and girls, ages 8 to 15, from both the elementary and secondary schools in Kuriga on Thursday.

A screengrab taken from video shows families of abducted pupils gathering during the visit of Kaduna state Gov. Uba Sani on March 7, 2024, after gunmen kidnapped more than 280 pupils from a school in Kuriga, Kaduna, northern Nigeria. — A screenshot captured from a video depicts families of abducted students congregating as Kaduna state Governor Uba Sani visits on March 7, 2024. Over 280 students were taken by armed individuals from a school in Kuriga, located in northern Nigeria.

AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images

According to local media sources, the parents appealed to the Nigerian government to pay the ransom demanded by the bandits (known as kidnap gangs in the area) in order to safely retrieve their children who were taken by them.

Kidnappers have taken more children from a school in Sokoto, located in northwest Nigeria.

had been kidnapped

The recent kidnapping of approximately 15 children was the third reported incident within a week, following previous reports of the kidnapping of up to 300 internally displaced individuals.had gone missing
Close to a camp located in the northeastern state of Borno.

Kidnapped, or simply a “repatriation to Boko Haram”?

Around March 1st, the United Nations and local authorities mentioned that nearly 200 individuals, mostly young females, were forcibly taken while gathering firewood near a displaced persons’ camp near Ngala in Borno state. Numerous reports implied that this was a large-scale abduction conducted by the extremist group Boko Haram. However, as time has passed and the group has disappeared, this assertion has been doubted.

During a meeting with European diplomats, Governor Babagana Zulum from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, promised to make his state free from terrorism and a safe haven for displaced individuals. However, he did express caution regarding the reported number of missing persons from the Ngala camp, stating that the situation was not entirely accurate.

According to Otto, a specialist in defense and counterterrorism and the director of the Geneva Center for Africa Security and Strategic Studies, several sources in the area have confirmed to him that the incident near the Ngala camp was a clear instance of relapse.

“The

The situation in the camp where internally displaced persons (IDPs) are located is extremely severe.

According to CBS News, many women and some young men decided not to go back to the camp, but instead went back to their husbands who are fighting for Boko Haram in the bush. The individual made these remarks during a recent trip to Abuja, Nigeria. They stated that the kidnapping incident was not a result of a Boko Haram attack.

According to Otto, the government refused to acknowledge that individuals who have been displaced and are currently residing in camps are experiencing worse conditions compared to those who live in the wild and rely on the resources of the land.

An April 27, 2017, photo shows the internally displaced persons camp in Ngala, in northeast Nigeria's Borno state, where more than 140,000 displaced people, most coming from the surrounding villages, had arrived at the time. — A photograph taken on April 27, 2017 depicts the Ngala internally displaced persons camp in Borno state, northeast Nigeria, which was home to over 140,000 displaced individuals. The majority of these individuals had fled from neighboring villages.

Jane Hahn for the Washington Post

The recently elected President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, campaigned on the pledge to improve safety throughout the nation. On Friday, he issued a statement denouncing the occurrences in Borno and Kaduna.

The security chiefs have updated me on the two events and I am confident that the victims will be rescued. I, along with the concerned family members, will not accept anything less. Appropriate legal actions will be taken.

He failed to mention the latest kidnapping in Sokoto, which occurred on the day of his speech.

Former senator Shehu Sani, representing Kaduna, expressed to CBS News his conviction that the abducted children from Kuriga schools will be freed in the near future.

A general view of Kuriga school, in northern Nigeria's Kaduna state, March 8, 2024, after more than 280 pupils were kidnapped by gunmen. — On March 8, 2024, after being abducted by armed individuals, over 280 students from Kuriga school in Kaduna state, northern Nigeria, are safely back in the school.

The picture is credited to Haidar Umar, via Getty Images.

It was predicted that the government would experience significant pressure and ultimately pay the ransom to rescue the young students in a public school. The speaker declined to comment on the existence of a ransom request and stated that the government would not reveal any details regarding negotiations.

He mentioned that it would be challenging to control a group of 200 individuals, which may lead the kidnappers to split them into smaller groups to avoid being targeted by airstrikes. Following that, they will likely begin negotiations promptly, given the limited options for transportation in the Kaduna region with such a large number of people.

A map and infographic shows the location of the town of Kuriga, in northern Nigeria's Kaduna state, where more than 280 schoolchildren were said to have been abducted on March 7, 2024. — An infographic and map displays the whereabouts of Kuriga town, situated in Kaduna state in northern Nigeria, where an alleged 280 schoolchildren were reportedly taken captive on March 7, 2024.

The image is credited to Omar Zaghloul through Anadolu/Getty Images.

For ten years, there has been a significant issue with the large-scale kidnapping of school students in northern Nigeria. Despite assurances of safety following the widely reported abduction of hundreds of girls from their school in Chibok, Borno state in 2014, the problem has persisted. To this day, around 100 of those girls have still not been found.

In the past four years, four major kidnappings of schools have occurred in Kaduna state. According to Sani, terrorist organizations specifically target schools in order to receive ransom payments, which they then use to quickly acquire weapons or further their activities.

Governor Zulum observed that during his recent visit, several women were protesting the way they were treated at displaced persons’ camps. They also gave a warning that they would leave the camps if the conditions did not improve.

The governor expressed concern that Ngala, a camp for internally displaced persons in Borno, is facing major challenges. More than 70,000 households there are currently only receiving minimal aid for food. He emphasized the need to help the camp residents find ways to support themselves, as there is a danger that they may go back to joining Boko Haram.

In 2014, the use of social media was instrumental in raising awareness and mobilizing efforts for the search of the Nigerian schoolgirls who were abducted by the terrorist group Boko Haram. At 12:07

In the year 2014, social media played a significant role in spreading information and organizing an effort to find the Nigerian schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram. At 12:07.

On Sunday, Dr. Barkindo Mohammed Saidu, the director-general of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), announced that nine out of the 102 displaced women who had previously gone missing have now reappeared at the Ngala camp.

According to him, we do not suspect that they were taken by force. Rather, we think they simply got lost on their way home. He also mentioned that if they were indeed taken by someone, we would have received a demand for ransom, which has not occurred yet.

“According to Otto, the recent events in the north have revealed that the government is incapable of safeguarding children in schools, enhancing the well-being of women in IDP camps, and maintaining overall security in the country. These incidents have surprised and alarmed the entire nation of Nigeria.”

On Monday, CBS News’ counterpart BBC News and various Nigerian sources reported that the national government of Nigeria has identified multiple schools in 14 different states and the capital city Abuja as being at risk of attacks.

Hajia Halima Iliya, the head of the Nigerian government’s Financing Safe Schools program, stated that the organization has gathered information to inform their intervention. This agency was established following the kidnapping in Chibok in 2014.

Source: cbsnews.com