UN condemns abduction of 'more than 300’ female students in Nigeria

The UN Secretary-General and UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF has condemned an attack on a secondary school in northwest Nigeria on Friday in which several hundred girls are still missing.

The UNICEF representative in the country, Peter Hawkins, urged the assailants to let the teenagers go immediately.

“We are angered and saddened by yet another brutal attack on schoolchildren in Nigeria,” Mr. Hawkins said.

“This is a gross violation of children’s rights and a horrific experience for children to go through – one which could have long-lasting effects on their mental health and well-being.”

In a statement issued by his Spokesperson, the Secretary-General António Guterres called for the “immediate and unconditional release of the abducted children and for their safe return to their families”.

“The attacks on schools and other educational facilities constitute a grave violation of the rights of children and human rights more broadly,” the statement said.

He stressed that schools must remain safe spaces for children to learn without fear of violence and urged the Nigerian authorities to “spare no efforts in bringing those responsible for this crime to justice.”

Mr. Hawkins lamented that attacks on schools have become “a way of life” to many in Nigeria.

“Bandits hoping to make quick cash by forcing the families and authorities to pay ransom money their hostages, often target institutions just out of reach of State control and usually in rural areas,” he explained.

According to reports, Friday’s incident attack happened in the middle of the night at the Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe, Zamfara state.

“We utterly condemn the attack and call on those responsible to release the girls immediately and for the government to take steps to ensure their safe release and the safety of all other schoolchildren in Nigeria,” Mr. Hawkins said.

“Children should feel safe at home and at school at all times – and parents should not need to worry for the safety of their children when they send them off to school in the morning.”

After acknowledging the efforts of the Government of Nigeria to secure the release of kidnapped schoolchildren in Nigeria, the UNICEF official urged the authorities “to make schools safe”.

Highlighting how progress is being made against the extremists in the former Boko Haram stronghold of Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, UNICEF’s Peter Hawkins happily described how “thousands of children, tens of thousands of children” have now returned to the classroom – something that not have been imagined during the extremists’ insurgency, which began in 2009.