Security forces on Thursday rescued nearly 350 schoolboys who had been kidnapped by suspected Islamist gunmen in northern Nigeria and taken into a vast forest, the governor of Katsina state said.

The abduction last Friday night had been claimed by Islamist militant group Boko Haram in an unverified audio recording.

Gunmen raided the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara town, Katsina state, on motorbikes and carried off the boys in the biggest such incident in the lawless region in recent years.

Governor Aminu Bello Masari said in a televised interview with state channel NTA that a total of 344 boys held in the Rugu Forest in neighboring Zamfara state had been freed.

“We have recovered most of the boys. It’s not all of them,” he said.

In the rescue operation, security forces had cordoned off the area where the boys were being held and had been given instructions not to fire a fire a single shot.

“We had already established indirect contact to try to make sure that we secure the release of the children unharmed,” Masari said. “We thank God that they took our advice and not a single shot was fired.”

The boys were on their way back to Katsina state and would be medically examined and reunited with their families on Friday, Masari said.

The abduction gripped a nation already incensed by widespread insecurity, and evoked memories of Boko Haram’s 2014 kidnapping of more than 270 schoolgirls in the northeastern town of Chibok.

Abduction of schoolboys shows ‘a very dangerous trend’ toward radicalisation of crime groups in northwest Nigeria

News of the release came hours after a video started circulating online purportedly showing Boko Haram militants with some of the boys.

The video, which featured Boko Haram’s emblem, showed a group of boys in a wood pleading “Help us, help us.” Reuters was not able to immediately verify the authenticity of the footage, the boys, or who released it.

The father of one of the missing boys, who gave only his first name Umar, said his son, Shamsu Ibrahim, was one of the boys who is heard speaking in the video .

“All the armies that have come here to help us, please send them back. They can do nothing to help us,” the boy says.

Boko Haram has a history of turning captives into jihadist fighters. If its claims were true, its involvement in northwestern Nigeria marks a geographical expansion in its activities.

Earlier on Thursday, protesters marched in the northwestern city of Katsina under a banner reading #BringBackOurBoys as pressure mounted on the government to improve security.

“Northern Nigeria has been abandoned at the mercy of vicious insurgents, bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers, rapists and an assortment of hardened criminals,” said Balarabe Ruffin of the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), which focuses on the welfare of northern Nigerians.

Armed gangs that rob and kidnap for ransom, widely referred to as “bandits”, carry out attacks on communities across the northwest, making it hard for locals to farm, travel or tap rich mineral assets in some states such as gold.

Criminal gangs operating in the northwest have killed more than 1,100 people in the first half of 2020 alone, according to rights group Amnesty International.

In the northeast, Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province, have waged a decade-long insurgency estimated to have displaced about 2 million people and killed more than 30,000. They want to create states based on their extreme interpretation of sharia law.

Buhari, who comes from Katsina, has repeatedly said that Boko Haram has been “technically defeated”.

A former military ruler, Buhari was elected in 2015 in large part due to his pledge to crush the insurgency. Under his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, Boko Haram grew in strength and controlled territory around the size of Belgium.

Source: REUTERS

Gunmen have raided a government secondary school in northern Nigeria’s Katsina state, police said Saturday, in an apparent kidnapping attempt for ransom.

The Nigerian military had located and exchanged fire with gunmen who kidnapped scores of secondary school students in northwestern Katsina state, according to a statement from the president on Saturday.

The gang, armed with AK-47s, stormed the Government Science secondary school in Kankara district at about 9:40 p.m. on Friday, police and locals said. A parent and school employee told Reuters that roughly half of the school’s 800 students were missing.

President Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement that the military had located the kidnappers in a forest and was exchanging fire with them, aided by air support.

In the statement, Buhari condemned the attack in his home state. Police and the military were still working to determine how many were kidnapped and missing.

Police at the scene on Friday exchanged fire with the attackers, allowing some students to run for safety, police spokesman Gambo Isah said in a statement.

Police said they would deploy additional forces to support the search and rescue. One officer was shot and wounded in the exchange of fire with the gang, they said.

Hundreds of students missing after gun attack on Nigerian school

Katsina is plagued by violence the government attributes to bandits – a loose term for gangs of outlaws who attack locals and kidnap for ransom. Attacks by Islamist militants are common in northeastern parts of the country.

Violence and insecurity across Nigeria have enraged citizens, particularly after scores of farmers were killed, some beheaded, by Islamist militants in northeast Borno state late last month.

Buhari, who arrived on Friday for a week in his home village some 200 km (125 miles) from Kankara, was scheduled to brief the national assembly on the security situation last week, but cancelled the appearance without official explanation.

Source: REUTERS

The Jesuit Refugees Service (JRS) has assisted no fewer than 50, 000 refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria from 2018 to date.

Its Head of Programmes in Nigeria, Tamara Hart, disclosed this yesterday at the launching of Protection and Health Services for Camerounian refugees in Taraba State.

Hart said the group was not only working in 56 countries across the world but has also pursued its mission to accompany and serve other forcibly displaced people to enable them to heal, learn and determine their own future.

While presenting the overview of the JRS Bureau of Population, Refugee, and Migration (BPRM), she said the group commenced operations in Nigeria in 2018 and has since assisted over 50,000 refugees and IDPs through its field offices in Adamawa, Borno, and Taraba states, as well as its Abuja office.

In addition to the ongoing High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) funded project in the state, the BPRM project, which she described as a “gift from the United States Government” would provide relief to the Camerounian refugees and members of the host community in four council areas of the state.

Besides the protection and health services, the project would also promote peaceful coexistence and reconciliation skills for the Cameroonian refugees and their host communities to enhance social cohesion.

Also speaking, JRS Nigeria Project Director for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sylvester Kenneth, stated that JRS has been implementing the UNHCR-funded “Protection and Educational Services for Camerounian Refugees since 2019.”

He said the idea of the project was to assist the displaced persons from the neighboring country of Cameroun and host communities in Takum, Ussa, Kurmi, and Sardauna council areas of the state.

Commending the state government for its support for the refugees, he acknowledged that the state was the most accommodating state for Camerounian refugees in the country.”

Corroborating Kenneth, JRS Country Director, Rev. Father Patrick Etamesor, commended the state government for providing an enabling environment for the group to implement its projects.

“JRS has enjoyed enormous support from the government and people of the state, hence the implementation of the project. JRS has assisted refugees and displaced persons in various ways,” he said

On his part, the Project Director, Abang Egbe, said the project team would constantly consult relevant stakeholders on issues bordering on the successful implementation of the project in the state.

Impressed by JRS efforts in assisting the refugees who fled from Cameroun to the state following skirmishes in that country that had led to the destruction of lives and property, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Innocent Vakkai, assured of the state government’s support for successful implementation of the project.

Source: Guardian.ng

Nigerian authorities struggled to halt looting across the country on Sunday as crowds defied curfew orders to ransack government warehouses in the latest in a wave of unrest sweeping Africa’s most populous nation.

The country’s police chief on Saturday ordered the immediate mobilisation of all “operational assets” as he sought to curb turmoil sparked by widespread protests.

Governors have slapped round-the-clock curfews on a string of states as residents have pillaged stocks that were meant for distribution during coronavirus lockdowns.

Locals raided agricultural supplied in the central city of Jos on Sunday a day after thousands had emptied a vast government warehouse.

Fresh looting of food supplies was also reported in Taraba and Adamawa states.

Peaceful demonstrations against police brutality erupted in Nigeria on October 8 and quickly snowballed into one of the biggest challenges to the ruling elite in decades.

Chaos spiralled after security forces on Tuesday opened fire on peaceful demonstrators in the centre of Lagos, unleashing days of rioting across Africa’s biggest city.

Official buildings were torched, supermarkets looted and vehicles destroyed as officials accused “hoodlums” of taking advantage of the mayhem.

The situation has calmed in the economic hub and a stringent stay-at-home order was eased on Saturday.

Amnesty International has said at least 12 protesters were shot dead by the army and police in Lagos on Tuesday, and a total of 56 people have died since the demonstrations began.

President Muhammadu Buhari has called for an end to the protests and warned demonstrators not to “undermine national security”.

He has not directly addressed the shooting of protesters in Lagos and sought to shrug off international outrage over the use of excessive force by his security agencies.

Nigeria is a tinderbox of deep social and economic grievances with around half of the estimated 200 million population living in extreme poverty.

Frustration runs deep among younger generations furious with the country’s graft-riddled leadership over a lack of opportunities.

Source: AFP

At least 51 civilians have been killed in Nigeria’s unrest following days of peaceful protests over police abuses, the president said Friday, blaming “hooliganism” for the violence while asserting that security forces have used “extreme restraint.”

President Muhammadu Buhari’s comments are expected to further inflame tensions in Africa’s most populous country after Amnesty International reported that soldiers shot and killed at least 12 demonstrators Tuesday night as a large crowd sang the national anthem. The deaths sparked international condemnation.

In a statement, Buhari also said 11 policemen and seven soldiers had been killed by “rioters” as of Thursday, and “the mayhem has not stopped.” He said another 37 civilians were injured in some of Nigeria’s worst turmoil in years.

The president said the well-intentioned protests were hijacked by thugs.

But many Nigerians are upset by what the president hasn’t said. Buhari in a national address Thursday night didn’t mention the shootings, instead warning protesters against “undermining national security and law and order.” On Friday he said the government “will not fold its arms and allow miscreants and criminals continue to perpetrate acts of hooliganism.”

Resentment lingered with the smell of charred tires Friday in Nigeria’s relatively calm streets. Soldiers remained in parts of Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, as a 24-hour curfew remained in place.

A witness of Tuesday night’s shooting, 33-year-old Isaiah Abor, ventured out anyway to visit the scene where solders had opened fire. He managed to escape the chaos.

“When (the soldiers) were making comments that the flag is not bulletproof, that’s when I knew this was going to go out of hand,” Abor said. Empty ammunition shells still littered the ground.

The president’s speech annoyed him. “The blood that stained a whole Nigerian flag, those youths were not even mentioned,” Abor said. He added: “We are not cowards. We will always come to this ground, and we will always feel for those that are gone.”

Another protester, Olatunde Joshua Oluwanifemi, said simply: “The speech killed our spirit.”

The president’s comments, “devoid of sympathy,” were worrying, said Okechukwu Nwanguma with the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Center. Shielding those behind the shootings will only lead to abuses by the police and military, he said: “If those who carried out the killings did so and nothing happens, it will encourage them and others to do the same thing next time.”

But citing the president’s comments, one influential group behind the protests, the Feminist Coalition, urged youth to stay at home, saying that “we need to stay alive to pursue our dreams to build the future.”

Others disagreed. If the protests have been hijacked, then Nigerian youth should not give up the struggle and instead should “go back and re-strategize,” said Seriki Muritala with the National Youth Parliament.

Campaign to shut down police unit

This week’s scenes have touched a chord with Black Lives Matter supporters in the United States, while the U.S. government has strongly condemned the “use of excessive force by military forces who fired on unarmed demonstrators in Lagos, causing death and injury.”

The protests turned violent Wednesday after the military’s shooting as mobs vandalized and burned police stations, courthouses, TV stations and a hotel. Police battled angry crowds with tear gas and gunfire. The looting and gunfire continued Thursday.

The demonstrations began early this month with calls for Nigeria’s government to shut down the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a police unit known as SARS. The squad was launched to fight crime, but it carried out torture and killings, according to Amnesty International.

The #EndSARS campaign spread across the country and Buhari’s government announced that it would disband the SARS unit. The protest persisted with demonstrators calling for more widespread reforms of the police and an end to corruption.

In one attempt at calming tensions, the Lagos state government on Friday shared a list of ongoing prosecution against police officers accused of human rights abuses.

“Today seems like a good day to get on to the work of rebuilding Lagos and ending police brutality,” Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu said.

But an angry crowd shouted at him over the unrest as officials toured burned-out vehicles and the sacked palace of a Lagos ceremonial leader. The leader, or oba, isn’t popular with some Nigerians who see him as a product of the country’s often corrupt politics.

‘We need to heal ourselves’

Opulence and grinding poverty are in close contact in Lagos, a city of some 20 million, and the inequality sharpens Nigerians’ grievances.

After touring the battered city, the governor told reporters he was “very traumatized” and that “we lost people in several parts of the city.” He didn’t give details.

“Enough is enough,” he said. “We need to heal ourselves.” He said the curfew would begin easing Saturday morning and a panel looking into the unrest would begin receiving petitions on Monday.

And yet nerves were frayed. Near the scene of Tuesday’s shooting, police shouted, then fired into the air, to stop a convoy carrying the body of a Muslim who had died overnight; the cause of death was not clear.

After questioning by police, the mourners were allowed to continue, to go on and bury the dead.

(AP)

The African Union on Thursday strongly condemned deadly violence in Nigeria’s biggest city Lagos and called on all parties to “privilege dialogue”. 

African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat “strongly condemns the violence that erupted on 20 October 2020 during protests in Lagos, Nigeria that has resulted in multiple deaths and injuries”, his office said in a statement.

“The Chairperson appeals to all political and social actors to reject the use of violence and respect human rights and the rule of law,” the statement said.

Mahamat’s comments came as protests escalated in Lagos, following the shooting of peaceful protesters by security forces earlier this week.

At least 12 people were killed by the Nigerian army and police in two locations in Lagos on Tuesday in a deadly crackdown on demonstrations, Amnesty International said.

Peaceful protesters had gathered despite a curfew imposed to end spiralling protests over police brutality and deep-rooted social grievances.

“Evidence gathered from eyewitnesses, video footage and hospital reports confirm that between 6:45pm (1745 GMT) and 9:00pm (2000 GMT) on Tuesday 20 October, the Nigerian military opened fire on thousands of people,” Amnesty said in a statement.

The Lagos governor at first insisted no fatalities had been recorded but later said the authorities were investigating the death of one person resulting from “blunt force trauma to the head”.

He said at least 25 people were wounded.

Masks and army uniforms

Demonstrator Paul Sunday who was at the scene told AFP that the men who shot at the crowd were wearing masks and had army uniforms.

“They attacked us from back and front,” he said. “They came around 7pm when everywhere is dark.”

Pictures and videos showing scenes of chaos in the aftermath of the shooting were widely shared on social media.

The shooting drew international condemnation, with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet saying reports suggested it could have been premeditated.

“There is little doubt that this was a case of excessive use of force, resulting in unlawful killings with live ammunition, by Nigerian armed forces,” she said.

“Reports that CCTV cameras and lighting were deliberately disabled prior to the shooting are even more disturbing as, if confirmed, they suggest this deplorable attack on peaceful protestors was premeditated, planned and coordinated.”

Human Rights Watch corroborated reports that the Nigerian army had opened fire on the crowd in “a shooting spree”.

“The authorities should immediately withdraw the military from the streets,” said Anietie Ewang, a Nigeria researcher with the rights group.

Source: France 24

Buildings were torched in Nigeria’s biggest city Lagos on Wednesday as authorities shut down the economic hub, after the shooting of peaceful protesters by security forces caused international outrage.

At least 12 people were killed by the Nigerian army and police in two locations in Lagos on Tuesday in a deadly crackdown on demonstrations, Amnesty International said.

Peaceful protesters had gathered despite a curfew imposed to end spiralling protests over police brutality and deep-rooted social grievances.

“Evidence gathered from eyewitnesses, video footage and hospital reports confirm that between 6:45pm (1745 GMT) and 9:00pm (2000 GMT) on Tuesday 20 October, the Nigerian military opened fire on thousands of people,” Amnesty said in a statement.

The Lagos governor at first insisted no fatalities had been recorded but later said the authorities were investigating the death of one person resulting from “blunt force trauma to the head”.

He said at least 25 people were wounded.

Demonstrator Paul Sunday who was at the scene told AFP that the men who shot at the crowd were wearing masks and had army uniforms.

“They attacked us from back and front,” he said. “They came around 7pm when everywhere is dark.”

Pictures and videos showing scenes of chaos in the aftermath of the shooting were widely shared on social media.

The shooting drew international condemnation, with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet saying reports suggested it could have been premeditated.

“There is little doubt that this was a case of excessive use of force, resulting in unlawful killings with live ammunition, by Nigerian armed forces,” she said.

“Reports that CCTV cameras and lighting were deliberately disabled prior to the shooting are even more disturbing as, if confirmed, they suggest this deplorable attack on peaceful protestors was premeditated, planned and coordinated.”

Human Rights Watch corroborated reports that the Nigerian army had opened fire on the crowd in “a shooting spree”.

“The authorities should immediately withdraw the military from the streets,” said Anietie Ewang, a Nigeria researcher with the rights group.

The Nigerian army did not respond to AFP’s requests for comment but on Twitter it called reports of soldiers firing on protesters “fake news”.

The west African ECOWAS bloc appealed to the Nigerian government, its youth and civil society “to urgently pursue dialogue for an early and amicable resolution of this social unrest and maintain the Nigerian image as a bastion of law and order.”

Nana Akufo-Addo, chairman of ECOWAS and president of neighbouring Ghana, said in a statement that he had spoken with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who had “begun the processes that will lead to reform”.

‘Inferno’

The centre of Lagos, a sprawling city that is home to 20 million people, was largely deserted and shops were closed on Wednesday under a curfew.

An AFP journalist said several buildings were burnt around the area of the shooting and remnants of the violence—broken glass, torn banners—could be seen.

A few people were drifting around, but protest hotspot Lekki Toll Gate had emptied out, only graffiti denouncing police violence and bad governance remaining.

A dozen soldiers and heavily armed police officers patrolled nearby.

In another district a bus station was set ablaze and there were sporadic clashes between bottle-throwing youths and police, who occasionally fired into the air.

A TV station linked to one of the ruling party’s most powerful politicians was also torched.

Concerned by the escalating violence reported on Wednesday in a string of cities including Lagos, the International Committee for the Red Cross called for restraint.

“It is of paramount importance that first responders and ambulances are respected by all, so they can reach injured people safely,” said Eloi Fillion, head of the ICRC delegation in Nigeria.

In a television broadcast, Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu ordered all “state activities” to be halted across the city for three days.

He said he had asked for a probe into “the rules of engagement employed by the men of the Nigerian army that were deployed” at the scene during the shooting on Tuesday.

“Soldiers clearly had one intention – to kill without consequences,” said Osai Ojigho, Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria.

‘Indefinite curfew’

At least 56 people have died across the country since the protests began on October 8, with about 38 killed on Tuesday alone, according to Amnesty.

President Buhari was yet to directly address Tuesday’s incident but in a statement on the protests the presidency said he had appealed for “understanding and calm across the nation”.

A coalition of civil society organisations in Nigeria said on Wednesday that they were “deeply shocked by the killing of peaceful protesters”.

“The attempt to fight for justice over police brutality has again revealed the brutal nature of the Nigerian state,” it said in a statement.

According to the group, “not less than 40 Nigerians have lost their lives as a result of violent attempts to crack down or disrupt the ongoing protests against police brutality.”

Nigeria, where the median age is 18, is a tinderbox of profound economic and social grievances.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Wednesday he was “deeply concerned” by violence in Nigeria.

“The Nigerian government must urgently investigate reports of brutality at the hands of the security forces and hold those responsible to account,” he said in a statement.

Since Tuesday, Rihanna, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Ugandan pop star-turned politician Bobi Wine and Manchester United striker Odion Ighalo added their names to a list of celebrities who have supported the protesters.

Source: AFP