Kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls' families gather as police and military launch rescue operation
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Four of Aliyu Ladan Jangebe's five daughters were among more than 300 girls abducted.(AP: Ibrahim Mansur)
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Families of more than 300 schoolgirls kidnapped by gunmen from a Nigerian school last week, the latest in a series of mass school kidnappings in the West African nation, have gathered, anxious for news.
Key points:
- The kidnappers herded the girls like animals, witnesses said
- A military camp and checkpoint was also attacked to prevent soldiers from responding
- On Saturday, gunmen released 27 teenage boys who were kidnapped from their school last week
Worried parents on Sunday attended the Government Girls Junior Secondary School in the country's north, guarded by police.
Aliyu Ladan Jangebe said his five daughters aged between 12 and 16 were at the school when the kidnappers stormed in.
Four were taken away but one escaped by hiding in a bathroom with three other girls, he told The Associated Press.
"We are not in [a] good mood because when you have five children and you are able to secure [just] one.
"We only thank God … but we are not happy.
"We cannot imagine their situation," he said of his missing daughters.
Some girls from the boarding school hid to avoid abduction.(AP: Ibrahim Mansur)
He said residents of a nearby village told him the kidnappers herded the girls along like animals.
One resident said the gunmen also attacked a nearby military camp and checkpoint, preventing soldiers from responding to the mass abduction.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said the government's priority was to have all the hostages returned unharmed.
Police and the military had begun joint operations to rescue the girls, a police spokesman said.
Pope, UN hoping girls will be released quickly
The Government Girls Junior Secondary School from where the girls were abducted on Friday.(AP: Ibrahim Mansur)
The girls' abduction has caused international outrage.
Pope Francis decried the kidnapping and prayed for the girls' quick release, during his public address in St Peter's Square on Sunday.
"I pray for these girls, so that they may return home soon," Pope Francis said, asking people to join him in prayer.
Last week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the abductions and called for the girls' "immediate and unconditional release" and safe return to their families.
He called attacks on schools a grave violation of human rights and the rights of children, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Organised 'bandits' may plot more abductions
Security forces are guarding the Government Girls Junior Secondary School.(AP: Ibrahim Mansur)
Nigeria has seen several such attacks and kidnappings in recent years.
On Saturday,
24 students, six staff and eight relatives were released after being abducted on February 17 from the Government Science College Kagara in Niger state.
What is Boko Haram?
- Boko Haram, which means "Western education is sinful", is loosely modelled on the Taliban movement in Afghanistan.
- The group considers all who do not follow its strict ideology as infidels, whether they are Christian or Muslim.
- It demands the adoption of Sharia law in all of Nigeria.
Read more
In December, more than 300 schoolboys from a secondary school in Kankara, in northwestern Nigeria, were taken and later released.
The government has said no ransom was paid for the students' release.
The most notorious kidnapping was in April 2014,
when 276 girls were abducted by the jihadist rebels of Boko Haram from the secondary school in Chibok in Borno state. More than 100 of them are still missing.
Boko Haram is opposed to western education and its fighters often target schools.
Other organised armed groups, locally called bandits, often abduct students for money.
The government says large groups of armed men in Zamfara state are known to kidnap for money and to press for the release of their members held in jail.
Nigeria's criminal networks may plot more such abductions if this round of kidnappings go unpunished, say analysts.
ABC/AP
