The Boko Haram group claimed responsibility for the abduction of at least 333 high school students this Tuesday, December 15, in the state of Katsina in northwestern Nigeria. This mass kidnapping, reminiscent of the abduction of 276 high school girls from Chibok in 2014 in Borno State, is the first incident of this magnitude in western Nigeria, until it was spared by the jihadist threat. In the country, there is concern, while this statement may mark a turning point in the group’s expansion.
as reported from Lagos, Liza Fabbian
The only crime from Kankara high school student is to have gone to public school and to have benefited from an education hated by Boko Haram. Following the kidnapping of more than 300 of them by Nigerian jihadist Abubakar Shekau, two border regions in the state of Katsina announced the closure of their schools, which were considered “vulnerable”.
► See also: Nigeria: Abubakar Shekau from Boko Haram claims kidnapping of high school students in Kankara
A statement of bitter failure, almost seven years later kidnapping of high school girls from Chibok of Boko Haram, which had upset the whole world. The group “Bring Back Our Girls”, which had fought for the release of these young girls, today condemns “a new failure” by President Muhammadu Buhari, accused of “playing ostrich” in the face of a very deteriorating security situation.
This is the first time that Abubakar Shekau is claiming an attack in this region, far from its traditional stronghold of Borno, in northeastern Nigeria. But this spectacular kidnapping was not necessarily carried out directly by Shekau’s men. Rather, it would have been “under-delivered” to one of the criminal groups swarming in the region. He may even have been initiated by one of them.
These well-organized “bandits” are seen as valuable relays by jihadist groups, who want to gain their loyalty to serve their interests in the western regions of Nigeria.
“The jihadists are spreading their tentacles and making sure that they no longer just function in their little enclave but spread their struggle beyond northeastern Nigeria.”
Idayat Hassan, Head of the Center for Democracy and Development, think tank based in Abuja, Nigeria
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