Schools in Niger state reopen after mass abductions

Nigerian officials have announced that schools in Niger state will start reopening later this month, following a mass abduction in November that forced their closure as part of emergency security measures.

From 12 January, public and private schools “in safe and secure areas” will be allowed to reopen, Niger state’s education ministry said in a statement.

The decision follows security assessments and “extensive consultations” with security agencies, it added.

November’s kidnapping of more than 250 students and staff from St Mary’s Catholic school in Papiri, western Nigeria, was one of the country’s worst abductions to date.

Officials confirmed that all of the missing students and teachers had been rescued. just before Christmas. It was not formally made public how the government secured their release, or whether any ransom was paid to their abductors.

For years, armed criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, have carried out killings and kidnappings across many parts of Nigeria – but reports in the north-central region have spiked recently.

Schools and places of worship have increasingly been targeted there.

The government has recently classified the criminal groups as terrorists, and while paying ransom money is illegal in Nigeria, there are claims this is often ignored.

More than 1,500 children have been abducted from the country’s schools since 2014, when 276 girls were taken during the infamous Chibok mass abduction.

It is not yet clear which schools will be reopening, however the state’s education ministry said a list would be released.

Those deemed to be in “unsafe or insecure areas” will remain closed until the security situation has been assessed, the statement said.

For those welcoming students back, every child will have to be registered as soon as classes resume and the data sent to the education ministry within a week.

Local officials have also been ordered to ensure an “adequate security presence in and around school premises” to help protect students from future attacks.

But just one day after officials announced the schools’ reopening, gunmen attacked a village in Niger state, killing at least 30 people and kidnapping several others, police said.

Saturday’s attack on the town of Kasuwan-Daji saw armed men emerge from a forest, burn down the local market and loot shops, they added.

Residents were gathered, tied up and attacked with knives, Abdullahi Rofia, an official with the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, told the BBC.

He said people in the community were terrified: “They are hiding, they are too afraid to talk to anybody.

“They are scared that if you talk, they will turn and do the same to you.”

Additional reporting by Richard Kagoe and Makuochi Okafor