The series of terrorist attacks on schools in the West African country Nigeria within the last one week have shocked the entire world. More than 80 school children have gone missing in these attacks. Local officials and a human rights group confirmed the major incident on Sunday. Nigeria has been waging a major battle against jihadists and many other extremist armed groups for a long time. This latest incident of kidnapping is a new and scary part of the same episode.
Militants suddenly stormed a primary school in conflict-torn Borno state in northeastern Nigeria between Wednesday and Thursday. During this time, terrorists brutally abducted 42 small children from Askara Uba and Chibok areas. According to Amnesty International, the attack took place in Musa village near Sambisa forest. This area is considered a major stronghold of the dreaded terrorist organization Boko Haram and its ally Islamic State West Africa Province.
What happened in the south-western part of Nigeria?
On Friday, a horrifying scene of terror was also seen in Nigeria’s south-western Oyo state. According to the Nigerian branch of Amnesty International, two separate secondary schools were attacked here within just a few hours of each other. At least 40 school children were abducted in these attacks. Such incidents of child abduction are generally considered very rare in this particular area of Oyo State. This incident has created a lot of fear among the local people there.
What impact is child kidnapping having on society?
Human rights group Amnesty has issued a very serious warning on this matter on Sunday. The group says that due to this ever-increasing threat of kidnapping, many children have been forced to leave school forever. The situation has become so bad that young girls are being thrown out of the classrooms. To protect their daughters from these dangerous attacks on schools, families are forced to marry them at an early age.
What is the government doing to save the kidnapped children?
Peter Wabba, a government official from Musa village, said on Sunday that the exact number of children abducted in Oyo State was 48. He said that the government is constantly assuring us that they are doing everything possible to save these innocent children but till now we are just waiting. Amnesty has also alleged that the authorities never fulfill their promises to investigate these incidents and bring the culprits to justice.
Amnesty International further said in its statement that the victims and their families are continuously being denied justice. On the other hand, police spokesperson Ayanlade Olayinka said on Saturday that three armed attackers have so far been detained in connection with the Oyo attack. This horrific attack took place in Orire area, about 220 kilometers from Lagos city. The police are continuously interrogating these arrested criminals.
Police officer Olayinka also clarified that the arrested suspected attackers were identified by the local community members themselves. After this, the police took immediate action and arrested him. However, it has not yet been clarified by the police whether they are also searching for other absconding suspects involved in this incident or not. Local people are demanding the safe return of all the children as soon as possible.