Hundreds of students are free again five days after being kidnapped from a boarding school in northeastern Nigeria. The girls were released today and are in good health, Zamfara state governor Bello Matawalle told AFP.
„I’m happy to report that the girls have been released,“ said Matawalle. The students are currently in the government building in Zamfara.
Armed attackers attacked the girls‘ boarding school in Jangebe on Friday night and kidnapped 317 schoolgirls. Pope Francis condemned the „heinous act“, which, however, did not seem to have any political background. For years, attacks by criminal gangs have been increasing in the north and center of Nigeria.
The gangs, known as “bandits” in Nigeria, kidnap people to extort ransom and are responsible for looting and rape. There are growing concerns that they may cooperate with jihadists from the northeast. They have been fighting for the establishment of an Islamist state for years.
