Three Nigerian academics kidnapped in third kidnapping. Gunmen on motorcycles stormed a primary school in the northwestern Nigerian state of Kaduna and kidnapped three teachers but no children, a government official said on Monday after the fifth school abduction in three months.
It was the first attack on an elementary school in a wave of such attacks in which more than 700 people have been abducted since December, and it comes just four days after 39 students were abducted from the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, again in Kaduna.
Samuel Aruwan, Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security, said in a press conference that Rema Primary School, in Birnin Gwari Municipal Area, was attacked at 8:50 (0750 GMT) on Monday.
He said children fled as armed men, locally called bandits, entered the association shortly after the students arrived.
“This led to the disappearance of two students. We are pleased to inform you that the two missing students have been found,” Aruwan said. “We can also confirm that no single student was abducted from the school.
“The government can confirm that three teachers … have been kidnapped.”
Nigeria’s kidnapping plague began with the seizure of 270 girls from a school in the northeastern city of Chibok by the extremist rebel group Boko Haram in 2014. About 100 of the schoolgirls have never been found.
Armed criminal gangs in Nigeria’s generally lawless north have since carried out numerous copycat attacks to obtain redemption.
The presidency said in late February that President Muhammadu Buhari had called on state governments to “review their policies to reward bandits with money and vehicles and warn that the policy could boomerang catastrophically”.
Attempts by the military and police to deal with the gangs have been unsuccessful, with many worrying that government agencies will exacerbate the situation by allowing the kidnappers to go unpunished, pay them or provide incentives.
Nigeria’s federal government has said it will “remove” the abduction after criticizing local business to free victims.
A spokesman for the presidency said he did not have the details of Monday’s abduction.
Armed men tried to kidnap more students in Kaduna State overnight on Sunday. The military managed to rescue the 180 students, including eight employees, after a fierce battle with armed men.
The nasty bandit has become a political problem for Buhari, a retired general and former military ruler who has faced growing criticism of the rise in violent crime, replacing his longtime military leaders earlier this year.
Buhari held talks with security officials and regional elders last week on Nigeria’s many security challenges. Subsequently, National Security Adviser Babagana Monguno said the government would take a tough stance against criminal gangs.
