Over 300 Nigerian Students Kidnapped

Boko Haram, a radical Islamic sect that believes in the abolition of Western practices from Nigeria, kidnapped a large group of schoolboys last Friday. Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for this heinous act. They believe that Western education goes against Islamic beliefs and that Islam is being governed by “fake Muslims”. They have been causing disruption in Nigeria regularly since 2011. Hundreds of students managed to escape by jumping the fence during the attacks. So far around 16 students have been rescued and 2 children are expected to be dead.

Parents fear that time may be running out since Boko Haram has a history of turning captives into jihadist fighters. The parents are pressuring the government to help them since they suspect that the Boko Haram will radicalise their children if they are kidnapped for too long. The leader of this rebel movement - Abubakar Shekau claimed responsibility for the kidnapping in a video, angering parents all over Nigeria. The insecurity in Nigeria is something that has increased exponentially over the past few years. Similar to this incident, 270 schoolgirls were kidnapped in 2014 and as of now only half of them have been found. Others were forced to marry fighters or killed. Parents of the schoolboys fervently hope that the same situation doesn’t repeat itself this time.