A group of "armed bandits" reportedly abducted 30 students from a school in northwest Nigeria late Thursday night. Members of the faculty were also reportedly kidnapped as well. The incident took place at the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka in the Kaduna state.
“About 30 students, a mix of males and females, are yet to be accounted for,” Kaduna State Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs Samuel Aruwan said.
Fortunately, military respondents were able to arrive in time to save approximately 180 students and staffers. After pushing students and staffers to safety, military respondents began "conducting an operation to track the missing students."
"We kept running as we heard the sound of gunshots and hid in the forest," Daniel Atep of Federal College said about his experience during the kidnapping.
"Later when the bandits had left, we saw soldiers searching around the bush and we came out. There were around 11 of us, so they took us to the school and to their barracks after."
As of now, Nigerian authorities believe that this group of "armed bandits" is also responsible for abducting nearly 300 schoolgirls earlier this year. Those girls were released after negotiating with the Nigerian government. However, it is unclear if the ransom was paid.
Nigeria also has dealt with large-scale kidnappings in the past. In 2014, Boko Haram is believed to be responsible for kidnapping more than 200 children from school. This monumental event sparked the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. Nearly seven years later, more than 100 girls are still missing.
Photo Credit: Getty Images