A Decade After Chibok Girls: 10 Deadliest School Abductions In Nigeria
April 14 marked 10 years since Nigeria witnessed its first mass school abduction – the kidnapping of 278 schoolgirls in Chibok, Adamawa State. A decade later, not only do over 90 of the girls remain missing, but the country has also experienced a spate of abductions, with over 1,500 students kidnapped between 2014 and 2024.
The most recent incident occurred on March 7, 2024, when gunmen on motorcycles abducted 287 pupils and teachers from the Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School, Kuriga 1, in Kaduna State. While the government eventually secured their release after two weeks, the Chibok abduction continues to cast a long shadow. The seemingly slow responses to free the girls still in captive, combined with alleged mistreatment of released victims in rehabilitation programs, has left a lasting scar on the nation.
While schools appear to be a preferred target for bandits and Islamist extremists, kidnapping in general has been steadily increasing in Africa’s most populous nation. According to SBM Intelligence, at least 3,620 people were kidnapped between July 2022 and June 2023, with ransom demands totaling over N5 billion.
With the children still missing and their abductors still at large, here are 9 more school abductions that shook the country.
Chibok Girls:
At midnight on April 14, 2014, 278 schoolgirls at Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, in Borno State were abducted by members of Boko Haram militants.
The abduction of the Chibok girls, between 16-18 years, sparked outrage worldwide.
In Nigeria, a movement, #BringBackOurGirls, was launched and was spearheaded by Oby Ezekwesili, Nigeria’s former Minister of Education, and Aisha Yesufu, a human rights campaigner.
Outside the country, the abduction received wide attention and condemnation. Michelle Obama, the then-First Lady of the United States, was photographed holding up a sheet of paper with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.
32 Grammy award-winner Beyoncé dedicated a separate section on her website to the movement.
While some claimed that the abduction was politically motivated to remove President Goodluck Jonathan from office who failed to be re-elected the following year, terrorists have continued to carry out bizarre attacks in schools.
Dapchi Girls:
On February 19, 2018, 110 schoolgirls between the age of 11–19 years old were kidnapped by the Boko Haram terrorist group from the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College (GGSTC) in Dapchi, a town in Yobe State.
Dachi is located approximately 275 km from Chibok, where 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014.
While the Nigerian government initially denied that the girls were kidnapped, it later acknowledged that Boko Haram was responsible for the kidnap.
Five schoolgirls died on the same day they were abducted.
On March 21, 2018, the federal government of Nigeria announced that 106 of the kidnapped children had been released, but one girl, Leah Sharibu, is still missing.
Sharibu is believed to be the only Christian among the kidnapped girls, and Boko Haram has reportedly refused to release her unless she converts to Islam.
In 2020, after spending almost two years in captivity, there were reports that Sharibu had given birth to a baby boy after being forcefully converted to Islam and married off to a Boko Haram commander.
Kankara boys:
The Kankara boys’ kidnapping was one of the largest mass abductions of schoolchildren in Nigeria’s history. Armed men on motorcycles attacked the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Katsina State, and kidnapped more than 300 boys on December 11, 2020.
Katsina state, the home state of former President Muhammadu Buhari, has been ravaged by insurgency for nearly a decade.
While the Nigerian government eventually negotiated the release of the boys on December 17, there were controversies about who their abductors were.
Officials in Katsina State said abductions were carried out by criminal gangs, while ex-Information Minister Lai Mohammed claimed it was done by bandits.
Auwalu Daudawa, a leader of a banditry gang in northern Nigeria, in an interview with Daily Trust in February 2021, admitted that he was responsible for the kidnappings.
He was granted amnesty after he ‘repented’ but was allegedly killed in May 2021 after he returned to crimes.
Kagara kidnapping:
Two months after Kankara boys were kidnapped, gunmen invaded Government Science College, Kagara, Niger State.
The armed men attacked the school at around 3 am on February 17, 2021, and abducted 27 schoolchildren.
Three members of the school’s staff and 12 of their relatives were also abducted.
A student was reportedly killed during the attack. Four days after the abduction, a military plane on its way to rescue the abductees was reportedly shutdown, killing all seven people on board.
The abductees were released on February 27, after several reports alleged that ransom was paid.
Jangebe Girls:
On February 26, 2021, a day before the release of the Kagara students, gunmen invaded Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara State, and abducted over 270 girls.
Buhari, whose tenure witnessed the most school abduction in the nation’s history, called the abduction “inhumane and totally unacceptable.”
The schoolgirls were released on March 2, 2021.
Afaka Kidnapping:
Less than two weeks after the Jangebe girls’ incident, Nigeria witnessed another school abduction.
On March 11, 2021, gunmen attacked the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, Igabi LGA, in Kaduna State and kidnapped 39 students.
The abducted comprised 23 females and 16 males.
The Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, is located on the outskirts of Kaduna city near the Nigerian Defence Academy military barracks.
The “armed bandits” entered the school by making a hole in the compound’s perimeter wall.
While 10 of the abductees were released between April 5 and 8, the remaining 29 students were freed on May 5, 2021, after spending 55 days in captivity.
Greenfield University Kidnapping:
The abduction of 20 students and two staff of Greenfield University sparked outrage in Nigeria.
The college students were abducted on April 20, 2021, marking Nigeria’s fourth kidnapping from an academic institution in 2021.
The kidnappers killed five of the abducted students. On May 29, 2021, after 40 days in captivity, the students were freed after parents said they paid a ransom of ₦150 million and eight brand new motorcycles to the bandits.
Makurdi Kidnapping:
On April 24, 2021, gunmen kidnapped two students from the Federal University of Agriculture in Makurdi, Benue State.
The abduction came just four days after the Greenfield University kidnapping.
The two students returned three days later on April 27, 2021, unhurt according to the university’s spokesperson.
Bethel Baptist School Kidnapping:
On July 5, 2021, gunmen invaded and kidnapped over 120 students from Bethel Baptist High School in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The attackers stormed the school early in the morning, shooting sporadically and taking the students away in a truck.
After several weeks in captivity, the kidnappers released 28 of the kidnapped students, but there is little knowledge about the remaining 80 who remained in captivity.
