287 School Children Abducted in Kaduna

Gunmen raided a school in Kaduna on Thursday morning and abducted a minimum of 287 students, as reported by the head teacher to authorities.

The incident marked the second mass abduction in the nation in less than a week.

Locals told The Press the assailants surrounded the government-owned school in Kaduna State’s Kuriga town just as the pupils were about to start the school day.

Authorities had said earlier that more than 100 students were taken hostage in the attack.

The head teacher, however, told Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani when he visited the town that the total number of those missing after a headcount was 287.

Abductions of students from schools in northern Nigeria are common and have become a source of concern since 2014 when Islamic extremists kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls in Borno state’s Chibok village.