Another kidnapping of students in Nigeria. Armed men kidnapped 73 pupils from a high school near Maradun in the north-west of the country. According to Zamfara police spokesman Mohammed Shehu, the attackers targeted the Government Day Secondary School in the village of Kaya this time.
A rescue operation is underway to free the pupils. Rescue teams and the military are collaborating in an attempt to reach the kidnappers and free the students.
Yet another kidnapping takes place a few days after the release of three other groups of hostages in exchange for large ransoms. Some of the abductees were very young, including a four-year-old boy. Their families, in some cases, had to sell everything they had to get them released.
The north-western and central states of Nigeria have long been the target of attacks between villages in constant rivalry for water and land. But the violence has increased dramatically with the emergence of large money-hungry criminal gangs.
Since last December, more than a thousand students have been kidnapped from schools in northern Nigeria. The gunmen demanded a large ransom from their parents and, although most of the pupils were eventually released, some died or were killed in captivity.
Eighteen students were released in Zamfara State last week after being kidnapped from an agricultural school in early August. Almost 100 children were released last week from an Islamic seminary in May in northwestern Niger and 32 students from a Baptist school in Kaduna state in July. Many others are still in the hands of the kidnappers.