Islamic extremists kidnapped at least 100 children in northern Nigeria on Thursday just before the start of the school day, international news agencies said. It is the second large-scale kidnapping in the region in a week; On Wednesday, an estimated two hundred children were kidnapped, probably by Boko Haram or a local sister movement of IS called ISWAP.
In such mass kidnappings, which occur regularly in the region, large sums of ransom are often paid, after which the children are released. In some cases, the children are held hostage for long periods of time or married off to the militants.
Amnesty International writes about the kidnappings, which have been occurring for more than a decade, that the Nigerian authorities are failing to protect children. The NGO refers a 2023 report to the most notorious kidnapping operation by Boko Haram, in which 276 girls were kidnapped from the Nigerian town of Chibok. Nearly a hundred of them are still in the hands of Boko Haram.
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Amnesty writes: “Since the Chibok girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram, a large number of schools have become targets. Girls have been raped, murdered or forcibly ‘married’. The Nigerian authorities have not yet conducted any credible investigation into their own failures.”
Governments fail to deliver on security promises
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, elected in 2023, has pledged to end extremist violence in his country. So far he has not been able to fulfill that ambitious promise.
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