Sources on the ground mentioned, first, the figure of 100 and, later, the figure of 200, but as the hours passed and the count ended, they rectified it, making the incident the second largest kidnapping in the history of Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa.
The attackers surrounded the public education system campus shortly before the start of classes, occupied it and gathered the students with whom they left for an unknown destination, according to sources on the ground reported by the press.
Kidnappings for ransom have become a common practice in Nigeria, initially used by the Islamist group Boko Haram, whose headquarters are in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno.
However, currently the method is used by common criminal gangs that proliferate in the north and center of the country to obtain economic benefits and funds with which to continue operating.
Former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, predecessor of the current president, Bola Tinubu, declared the gang members “enemies of humanity” and swore to fight them until they were eliminated, but he ended his term without fulfilling his promise.
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