During the night from Friday to Saturday, several hundred high school students from their boarding school in Kankara were kidnapped by one hundred armed men on motorcycles.
This attack, which took place in the state of Katsina in the northwestern part of the country, was first attributed to the “bandits” who usually operate in this area. The allegation of this attack by Abubakar Shekau, which was broadcast on Tuesday morning, December 15, in a voice message marks a turning point in the jihadist group’s expansion.
According to the authorities, 333 school children were abducted in Kankara, but they may be more than 500 currently in the hands of jihadists. A spectacular act, which definitely seems to record the rapprochement between the “bandits” in northwestern Nigeria and the Boko Haram group, whose traditional base is further east of the country.
In recent months, some groups in northwestern states have reportedly pledged allegiance to Abubakar Shekau, while former fighters from Boko Haram or Iswap, its branch near the Islamic State, have joined armed groups.
President Buhari criticized
On the part of the authorities, it is obviously surprising. On Monday night, the governor of the state of Katsina announced that about fifteen young people had been found near the Zamfara forest and that a rescue operation was underway. This mass kidnapping was condemned by President Buhari more and more criticized for its powerlessness in the face of the continuing deterioration of the security situation in northern Nigeria.
In addition, the head of state would speak on the subject last week before the Nigerian National Assembly. A speech that followed the massacre of 76 farmers of Boko Haram in the state of Borno. But in the end, he did not honor the invitation of deputies.
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