[ad_1]
“I am Abubakar Shekau and our brothers are behind the kidnapping in Katsina,” mentioned the person in the recording. Shekau is the chief of certainly one of Boko Haram’s factions.
CNN was unable to independently confirm the authenticity of the message.
The message claimed that Boko Haram had focused the varsity due to the group’s long-held purpose to cease “western” training in northern Nigeria, however a authorities official advised CNN on Monday that the abductors had been in contact with a instructor of the varsity, elevating the prospect of a ransom negotiation.
There have been various estimates of the variety of youngsters kidnapped from the varsity. Government officers mentioned it was troublesome to precisely observe the numbers, as some youngsters ran away throughout the assault and others had escaped and made their approach again to villages and to the varsity via the weekend.
“Schools should be a place of safety and learning but for these boys and their families, it has turned into a nightmare,” mentioned Shannon Ward, Save the Children’s appearing nation director in Nigeria, in a press release on Monday. “This could have a deep impact on children — not only the boys who were taken, but also the ones who had to flee and hide from gun violence or those who saw what happened.”
The kidnapping is exterior Boko Haram’s traditional space of exercise. Their operations have usually centered in the northeast of the nation, although safety analysts imagine that their attain has shifted, after a safety crackdown in that area.
There have been a number of kidnappings for ransom in Katsina State in latest years, however not on this scale.
Several witnesses advised CNN that those that focused the varsity have been Fulani gunmen, an ethnic group that has been concerned in kidnappings and prison actions in the realm.
Shekau’s faction of Boko Haram was behind the 2014 kidnapping of practically 300 schoolgirls in Chibok. Their captivity lasted years and lots of the youngsters have been by no means returned after a negotiated launch.
In 2018, a breakaway faction of Boko Haram referred to as ISWAP kidnapped greater than 100 ladies in Dapchi. All however one was launched weeks later, after negotiations.
While these are probably the most high-profile examples, Boko Haram has kidnapped properly in extra of 1,000 youngsters since 2013, in accordance to UNICEF.
The United Nations strongly condemned the abductions on Sunday, and known as for the “immediate and unconditional release” of the kids.
[ad_2]
Source hyperlink