Zamfara kidnapping

2021 Civilian attack in Jangebe Town, Zamfara Nigeria resulting in the kidnapping of 279 schoolchildren

The Zamfara kidnapping (Jangebe kidnapping) was a mass kidnapping of female students in Jangebe, Zamfara State, Nigeria. On 26 February 2021, 279 girls aged 12–17 years old were kidnapped by armed bandits at the Government Girls Science Secondary School, a boarding school in the northwest of the country.[1][2] A police officer was killed.

It is part of the Nigerian bandit conflict, which began in 2011. It is the second school kidnapping in Nigeria during 2021, the first being the Kagara kidnapping.[3]

Amnesty International said the kidnapping is a war crime.[1] No one has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.[4][5]

On 2 March 2021, the students were freed. The news was released by a tweet from the Zamfara governor.[6]

References change

  1. 1.0 1.1 Busari, Stephanie; Abrak, Isaac; Princewill, Nimi. "Hundreds of schoolgirls abducted in Nigeria, government official says". CNN. CNN. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  2. "'Overwhelming joy': Kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls released". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
  3. "Hundreds of Nigerian Students Kidnapped, Police Say". The New York Times. Associated Press. 26 February 2021. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  4. "Nigeria's Zamfara school abduction: More than 300 Nigerian girls missing". BBC News. 26 February 2021. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  5. Ibrahim, Hamza (26 February 2021). "Gunmen kidnap 300 schoolgirls in increasingly lawless northwest Nigeria". Reuters. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  6. Akinwotu, Emmanuel (2021-03-02). "Almost 300 schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria are free, says state governor". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2021-03-06. Retrieved 2021-03-06.