Reply to thread

Message

[QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 81814, member: 636"]
Schools will start reopening in a state still getting hammered by bandits. Officials in Nigeria's Niger state announced public and private schools in secure areas can reopen from January 12, following the mass abduction last November of over 250 people from St. Mary's Catholic school in Papiri. All those kidnapped were rescued before Christmas, though the details of their release remain undisclosed. The decision comes from security consultations, but the very next day after the announcement, gunmen attacked the town of Kasuwan-Daji, killing at least thirty people and kidnapping several others.

The education ministry said a list of qualifying schools will be published, while those in unsafe zones stay closed. Schools that reopen must register every child immediately and send the data to authorities within a week, with local officials ordered to provide an adequate security presence. This incident is part of a broader surge in kidnappings targeting schools and communities in north-central Nigeria, with more than fifteen hundred children abducted from educational institutions since 2014. Armed criminal gangs, recently classified as terrorists, continue their raids despite a national law against paying ransoms, a rule often ignored. Residents in the latest attacked village described a scene of terror, with people tied up and stabbed, leaving the community too frightened to speak.
[/QUOTE]

Name