- Written by Chris Ewokor & Andre Roden-Paul
- in kaduna and london
A boy holds up a placard to protest the kidnapping of nearly 300 school children this week.
The governor of Nigeria's Kaduna state told BBC News that at least 28 of the approximately 300 schoolchildren kidnapped by armed groups have escaped.
Nigeria's military is leading a frantic search for the abducted children in the northern town of Kuriga on Thursday.
Troops are working with police and local search teams to search forests in Kaduna and neighboring states.
This kidnapping is the largest mass kidnapping from a school since 2021.
According to school authorities and parents, an armed group on motorcycles abducted about 300 elementary and junior high school students between the ages of 8 and 15.
Almost every family in town is believed to have children among those abducted.
One student, believed to be 14 years old, was shot dead by an armed group and was being treated at a hospital.
The kidnapping followed the abduction of a woman and child from a remote town in Borno state the previous day.
Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani told the BBC that lack of boots on the ground is the main reason for the increase in kidnappings in the region.
Parents and relatives of the abducted children have formed a vigilante group and are seeking help from nearby communities in locating the children.
Nigeria's Vice President Kassim Shettima is visiting Kaduna and is expected to meet with the governor.
President Bola Tinubu said on social media that he was confident the victims would be rescued.
“For me and the waiting families of the abducted nationals, nothing more is acceptable. Justice will be decisively served,” he said on Twitter.
Searches are also underway in Katsina and Zamfara states.
In some parts of northern Nigeria, parents are growing weary of sending their children to school out of fear for their safety.
Kidnapping for ransom by armed groups is rampant in northern Nigeria, leaving thousands of children out of school.
The last large-scale kidnapping involving schoolchildren in Kaduna occurred in July 2021, when armed groups took over 150 students.
The students were reunited several months later after their families paid the ransom.
Additionally, if the victim dies, abduction can now be punishable by death.
