Boko Haram, the Nigerian terrorist group, has kidnapped 110 schoolgirls in the town of Dapchi.
According to reports, many of the terrorists dressed as soldiers during the raid of the school and confused the students.
“The federal government has confirmed that 110 students of the Government Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, are so far unaccounted for, after insurgents believed to be from a faction of Boko Haram invaded their school on Monday,” Nigeria’s information ministry said in a statement.
The raid could be the largest abduction since 270 girls were kidnapped in 2014 from Chibok.
That kidnapped prompted a worldwide #BringBackOurGirls campaign. It’s still unknown where more than 100 of those girls are.
One of the kidnapped girl’s fathers is asking the Nigerian government to act swiftly.
“We don’t want these girls to stay long with those militants. Anything can happen to them,” Kachalla Bukar told the BBC.
“We are begging the government to control the situation quickly,” he added.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who has promised to eradicate the terrorist group, said the kidnapping in Dapchi was a “national disaster.”
The school has been closed following the kidnapping.
“We want to assure Nigerians that no stone will be left unturned in our determination to rescue these girls,” Nigeria’s Information Minister Lai Mohammed told BBC reporters.
According to CNN, Nigeria has already launched fighter jets and helicopters into the search for the girls. Officials will search day and night, Olatokunbo Adesanya, director of public relations and information of the Nigerian Air Force said in a statement.
It was initially reported that only 13 girls were missing and 75 were rescued, but officials later corrected those numbers.
“According to our records, 104 girls are missing, including my 16-year-old daughter, Fatima,” said Bashir Manzo, head of the school’s parent association.
“Those are the numbers we gather from fathers who have not seen their children from the school. They told us they saw some girls but the governor has told us yesterday they haven’t found them,” Manzo said.
Boko Haram has killed more than 20,000 people and its actions have displaced some two million people since 2009.
Photo courtesy: Getty Images
Publication date: February 26, 2018
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