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Several hundred girls are missing after gunmen raided a school in northwest Nigeria, a teacher said. Their disappearance raises fears that Nigeria has been hit by another massive kidnapping – the hallmark of criminal gangs and extremist Islamist groups.
A chronology:
– 2014: ‘Chibok’ girls taken –
On April 14, 2014, Boko Haram gunmen seized 276 girls aged 12 to 17 from the government secondary school for girls in the remote town of Chibok, in northeastern Borno state.
The girls are forced out of their dormitories in trucks and driven into the bush.
Fifty-seven manage to escape in a daring escape.
– ‘Slave wives’ –
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau claims responsibility in a video and swears to sell the girls as slave brides.
Boko Haram says they have converted to Islam and will not be released until the detained militant fighters are released.
An international outcry ensues with a campaign demanding the release of the girls backed by prominent celebrities and politicians, with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls going viral.
– 2016: First daughter found –
In April 2016, on the eve of the second anniversary of the kidnapping, a “proof of life” video appeared showing 15 of the girls in black hijabs.
The following month, the Nigerian military confirms that the first of the schoolgirls has been found. The 19-year-old has a four-month-old baby and is found with a man she describes as her husband near the Boko Haram forest enclave of Sambisa.
In October, 21 of the girls were released following discussions between Switzerland and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Local sources say four jihadist prisoners were released in return.
– 2017: 82 released –
In May 2017, 82 other girls were released in exchange for five Boko Haram commanders.
Later that month, Boko Haram released a video in which a woman wearing a black veil pretending to be one of Chibok’s daughters brandishes a weapon and proclaims her loyalty to the group.
A total of 107 of the 219 detainees since 2014 escaped or were released.
Some of the young women are currently studying at the American University of Nigeria in Yola, although others had to drop out because their poverty-stricken families could not afford transportation, food or even their expenses. sanitary napkins.
– 2018: Abduction of Dapchi –
In February 2018, the Islamic State Province of West Africa (ISWAP), an offshoot of Boko Haram, tore 111 girls from their boarding school in the northeast town of Dapchi, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) away. from Chibok.
The jihadists returned more than 100 girls to the city on March 21 after talks with the government.
Five of their classmates are said to have died in captivity.
The group refused to release Leah Sharibu, then 15, because she would not convert to Islam.
The only Christian among the hostages, she is still in captivity three years later.
– 2020: Abduction of Kankara –
On December 11, 2020, more than 100 gunmen on motorcycles stormed the government’s all-boys high school for science in Kankara town, Katsina state, seizing 300 students.
The attack was initially blamed on armed criminals before Boko Haram – which operates hundreds of kilometers away – claimed responsibility.
The boys are then released after interviews with government officials.
– 2021: Raid de Jangebe –
Gunmen raided a school dormitory in Jangebe, northwest Zamfara state, Thursday night, a teacher and parent told AFP. More than 300 girls are missing, says the teacher.
The attack comes barely a week after gunmen stormed a school in neighboring Niger state, killing a student and abducting 42 students, teachers and parents.
(AFP)
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