Hundreds of Nigerian students claimed to have been kidnapped by Boko Haram
An audio message from a man identifying himself as the leader of Nigeria’s Boko Haram has made the claim that the armed group was responsible for the abduction of hundreds of students from a school in the northwestern state of Katsina.
The exact number of missing students remains unclear.
Military spokesman General John Enenche announced to Channels TV on Monday that
some 333 pupils were unaccounted for after heavily armed gunmen raided the
all-boys Government Science Secondary School in the town of Kankara.
“I am Abubakar Shekau and our brothers are behind the
kidnapping in Katsina,” stated the man in Tuesday’s voice message.
Boko Haram together with its splinter faction, the Islamic
State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), has for years waged a violent armed
campaign in the northeast of the country and neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and
Niger. In 2014, Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden”
in the local Hausa language, abducted hundreds of schoolgirls in the town of
Chibok.
The man in the audio message offered no solid proof for the
claim. Additionally, no video footage was released of the missing boys. There
was also no immediate comment by Nigerian authorities.
Late on Monday, the governor of Katsina state, Aminu Bello
Masari, remarked that the abductors “have made contacts with the government”.
“Talks are ongoing to ensure their safety and return to
their respective families,” he tweeted, without identifying the kidnappers.
A joint rescue operation was launched this past Saturday by
Nigeria’s police, air force and army, according to the government. The army commented
on Monday that it had located the hideout of the men, and that a military
operation was under way.
On Sunday, parents and family members came together at the
school, issuing a plea to authorities to bring the missing boys back to safety.
“If it’s not government that will help us, we have no power
to rescue our children,” Murja Mohammed, whose son was abducted, said.
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