Schools in Nigeria’s northwestern Zamfara State have been ordered closed after scores of students were kidnapped by gunmen on Wednesday.
At least 73 students were abducted from a state-run high school in Zamfara’s Maradun district, local police said in a statement, adding that the high school was targeted by “armed bandits.”
“The abduction followed the invasion of the school by a large number of armed bandits,” according to Zamfara State Police Command. ”
A search and rescue team has been deployed to work with the military to locate and rescue the abducted children… Security has also been beefed up at Kaya Village and environ to forestall further attacks on the communities,” the statement added.
Amnesty International has described this latest incident in Zamfara as “disturbing,” saying in a tweet that “attacks on schools and abductions of children are war crimes.”
“The children abducted are in serious risk of being harmed. Nigerian authorities must take all measures to return them to safety,” Amnesty added.
