Over 300 Students Released in Nigeria

Over 300 Nigerian male students who had been held captive by terrorists have been released. Some remain in the hands of the kidnappers. The extremist group “Boko Haram” had taken the students captive.

Nigeria officially announced that 344 male students who had been taken captive have been released; however, an unknown number of students still remain in the hands of the kidnappers.

According to the governor of Katsina State, the students are under the protection of security forces. He confirmed that not all, but most of the boys have been released. It remains unclear how many of the captives are still held by the abductors.

Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria, called the students’ release a “relief for the country and the global community” in a Twitter message.

According to Nigerian government sources, the students were released in a forest following negotiations between government representatives and the abductors. They are to undergo medical examinations before reuniting with their families.

“Opposition to Modern Education”

Last Friday (December 11), over 300 high school students were abducted in an attack on a boarding school in Katsina State in northwestern Nigeria. Approximately one hundred armed attackers on motorcycles participated in the assault. Some students escaped from the forests surrounding the school, but over 300 were taken captive.

Militants from the armed group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for abducting the students. The leader of this extremist group stated in a message that the purpose of the attack on the boarding school in Katsina State was to “promote Islam” and counter “Western and un-Islamic education.”

Following this abduction, the spokesman for Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria, said that the country’s authorities were in contact with the attackers and were working to secure the students’ release.

“Boko Haram” is a Sunni group with extremist beliefs that has fought against Nigeria’s central government since 2009 with the aim of establishing an “Islamic state.”

They ruthlessly kill anyone they consider an enemy of their ideology. They are not averse to looting and plundering, and particularly carry out killings and massacres of forest workers, herders, and fishermen, accusing them of collaborating with the army.

According to United Nations statistics, approximately 36,000 people have been killed in Boko Haram attacks over the past decade, and two million people have been forced to flee.

They call themselves “Boko Haram” because they consider education in non-religious schools to be forbidden and blasphemous.

Armed members of Boko Haram support the terrorist group “Islamic State” (ISIS).

Source: DW