[ad_1]
Jihadists in northeast Nigeria have long scandalized the world with mass kidnappings of schoolchildren, but now income-seeking armed gangs are using the same tactics in other parts of the country, triggering warnings that no schools is not sure.
More than 300 schoolgirls were torn from dormitories by gunmen in the middle of the night in northwestern Zamfara state on Friday in the third mass kidnapping of students since December.
Until recently, such attacks were the hallmark of jihadists who led a decade-long insurgency in the northeast, and where the kidnapping of 276 girls in Chibok in 2014 sparked global outrage.
But mass kidnappings of civilians – including schoolchildren – for ransom are now on the rise in northwest and central Nigeria.
“The easiest way to get money from the government now is to kidnap schoolchildren,” warned Idayat Hassan, director of the Abuja-based think tank Center for Democracy and Development, after the kidnapping of 27. students last week in Kagara, central Niger. .
“Blackmail by bandits”
“When the kidnappers see that they are not sanctioned, that they are given an amnesty at a grand ceremony, it becomes a good opportunity for them,” said Yan St-Pierre, consultant for the Modern Security Consulting Group based in Berlin.
Map locating the main mass kidnappings in Nigeria and other areas threatened by different conflicts, insurgency or criminal groups. By Gal ROMA (AFP) He cited the case of a gang leader behind the kidnapping of over 300 schoolchildren in northwest Katsina state in December. He gave in, with officials claiming they had reached an amnesty deal and refusing to pay a ransom.
But “whatever the government says”, maintained St-Pierre, “the ransoms are paid, whether by the families of the victims or by the authorities”.
“The government wants to avoid a second Chibok and is therefore doing everything it can to facilitate the release of the kidnapped people.”
President Muhammadu Buhari insisted in a statement on Friday that the government “would not succumb to blackmail by bandits … pending huge ransom payments.”
One of the problems is that there is a lack of a coherent strategy, said Nnamdi Obasi, senior analyst for Nigeria for the International Crisis Group (ICG).
“The president is talking about crushing armed groups, but some governors are calling for dialogue and amnesty,” he said.
Another problem is that kidnapping for ransom is already a widespread national problem, with businessmen, government officials and ordinary citizens being dragged from the streets by criminals looking for ransom.
At least $ 11 million was paid to kidnappers between January 2016 and March 2020, according to SB Morgen, a Lagos-based geopolitical research consultancy.
Organized gangs in the northwest could receive money for kidnappings in other parts of the country, Obasi said, allowing them to purchase weapons and vehicles to stage large-scale attacks and mass kidnappings .
Jihadist infiltration
Northwestern Nigeria has been ravaged by years of insecurity involving armed groups from rival communities competing for land and resources.
Boko Haram said his group was behind the kidnapping of hundreds of students from a school in Katsina state in December, who were eventually released. By Kola Sulaimon (AFP / File) “No one has an accurate count of these groups,” Obasi said, but they “have grown in numerical strength.”
Another key factor in increasing the group’s capacities has been “the availability and cross-border flow of arms from Libya and other countries affected by violence,” said analyst Chitra Nagarajan.
The Nigerian military deployed to the region in 2016 and a peace deal with bandits was signed in 2019, but attacks continued.
Security analysts further warned of a possible infiltration by jihadists from the northeast – Boko Haram and Islamic State into the West Africa province.
As links between the jihadists and the northwest remain uncertain, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said his group was behind the kidnapping of 334 students from a school in the state of Katsina in December.
Outside of school
The consequences of school kidnappings are already being felt in the region.
A group of students were taken to Kagara in central Niger state last week. By Kola Sulaimon (AFP / File) “No school is safe,” said history professor at Gusau University in Zamfara, Murtala Rufai, a father of six living in Sokoto state.
“More and more students are dropping out of school because of fear … we don’t know which school will be next.”
Despite its mineral resources and economic potential, the northwest has the highest poverty rate in Nigeria, with authorities warning that recent progress in convincing parents to take their children to school is now at risk.
According to Rufai, many parents in the conservative Muslim region are already against “Western education”.
“It gives them (parents) another excuse to take their children out of school, to marry girls at an early age and put the boys to work.”
These massive kidnappings could also play into the hands of the jihadists, warned Obasi.
“Now they can point their finger at this and say: look, the state, the democratic state, is not able to protect you, let’s unite our hands.”
Source link
