Tears, anxiety as kidnapped schoolgirls remain captive

Humaira Mustapha made no effort to wipe away the tears that ran down her cheeks as she spoke of her two kidnapped daughters.

“Every time I think of my daughters, I am filled with indescribable grief,” Mustapha told AFP.

Sitting against the mud-plastered wall of her bare living room, her tears left wet stains on her navy blue hijab (Islamic veil).

Hafsa and Aisha, 14 and 13, respectively, were among 317 schoolgirls abducted by gunmen from their hostel at a girls’ boarding school in the remote village of Jangebe, Zamfara state.

“Every time I serve food to their younger sister, tears keep falling from my eyes because I keep thinking about the hunger and thirst they are experiencing,” the mother of three said. 30-year-olds.

But she only serves her daughter.

“I can’t eat since the kidnapping,” she said.

“I call on the governor to do everything to save our daughters who are facing a real danger to their lives,” added Mustapha.

“As a mother, my anguish crushes me.”

‘I hid under the bed’

Villagers say more than 100 armed men in military uniform invaded the village early Friday morning.

They fired their guns endlessly, challenging the male residents to come out and fight. No one dared.

Mukhtar Rabiu, another relative, said the gunmen then proceeded to the school hostel for the sleeping students, forcing them to walk into the bush.

“I hid under the bed until they left,” said 13-year-old Shamsiyya Rabiu. By Kola SULAIMON (AFP)

Rabiu’s daughter, Shamsiyya, was one of 50 schoolgirls who managed to escape.

“They entered the school around 1am and entered dormitories throwing insults at us, calling us out while shooting in the air,” she told AFP from her home. in the village.

“They wore military uniforms,” ​​added the 13-year-old.

“I hid under the bed until they left after I gathered the students they could find.

“Some of us hid in the toilet,” she added, behind a milk-colored veil.

“Whenever I think of my colleagues, I feel depressed. I am alone and have prayed for their safe return,” she added.

In the streets of the quiet village, the inhabitants went on with their lives, suppressing their anxiety.

Deserted school

The school, located on the edge of the village, is practically deserted.

The only sounds are the birds in the trees scattered around the school grounds and the eerie bleating of the goats there.

Only the deputy director of the school and a security guard at the entrance are still present.

The school grounds are now practically deserted. By Kola Sulaimon (AFP)

Iron beds, shoes, mattresses and garbage garbage dormitories abandoned from which schoolgirls were taken.

Boxes, buckets of water and plastic kettles are strewn on the dusty floors of the inns.

Classroom chairs are empty, dozens of computers sit idle on desks, and books are gathering dust on the shelves.

“It would have been better if my two daughters died and I buried them – knowing that Allah who gave them to me took them – than to have them kidnapped by bandits,” said Abubakar Abdurrahman Zaki.

His two daughters were among those abducted.

The latest raid came a week after Zamfara state governor Bello Matawalle announced an amnesty for repentant bandits accused of a series of kidnappings and deadly raids on local villages.

“No one knows the condition of the girls, which worries everyone,” said resident Bello Gidan-Ruwa.

“The government has said it is making efforts to save the girls, but their efforts are not enough until our girls are back safely,” he added.