Nigeria numbers 136 students abducted on Sunday

Nigerian authorities confirmed Thursday, June, 3 that 136 students were abducted from an Islamic school in north-central Nigeria on Sunday, May 30,2021.

"The state government of Niger - where the abduction took place - has confirmed that the number of students kidnapped by bandits at the Salihu Tanko Islamic School in Tegina, in the Rafi local government area, is 136," officials said in a quoted statement by the Efe news agency, sent by the press office of the governor, Abubakar Sani Bello.

The statement added that the deputy governor of the state, Ahmed Mohammed Ketso, confirmed the numbers and assured the children's parents that the government is doing everything possible to rescue the students safely.

Likewise, Ketso declared that "the security agencies are doing their best", but that they "do not have the necessary logistics", which implied the need for "the federal government's intervention to equip them to be able to do so", in front of the bandits".

The Lieutenant Governor also noted that security agencies are being careful in pursuing the kidnappers to avoid collateral damage.

The local government of Niger decreed a ban on the movement of motorcycles, used by kidnappers to carry out the attacks, in the state capital, Minna, between 9:00 pm and 6:00 am local time, in order to guarantee the city's safety.

In recent months, northern Nigeria has seen an increase in the number of mass abductions, with perpetrators seeking lucrative ransoms.

With this latest episode, more than 900 students have been kidnapped since last December.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the country's security forces to step up efforts to save the students.

In addition to mass kidnappings, Africa's most populous country faces immense security challenges, including 12-year-old terrorist attacks in northeastern Nigeria that have killed more than 40,000 people.