[ 2021-03-05 ]

Nigeria kidnapped girls Shots fired at Zamfara reunion ceremony

March 5, 2021

A reunion of kidnapped daughters and their parents
in Jangebe, Nigeria, turned violent on Wednesday
when armed forces reportedly opened fire.

At least three people were reportedly shot at the
official handover ceremony. It is unclear if there
were any deaths.

Parents were said to have become frustrated at how
long the ceremony was taking and started throwing
stones at government officials.

The 279 girls were kidnapped by armed men while at
school last Friday.

They were then freed on Tuesday.

They were kept in the custody of the Zamfara state
government, and given medical treatment in the
state capital Gusau, before Wednesday’s official
handover ceremony.

UN experts have called for the traumatised pupils
to receive urgent rehabilitation.

One mother at the reunion told AFP news agency
that parents became angry at the length of the
reunion because they wanted to get back home
before dark, as the roads were unsafe.

The Zamfara state government has imposed a
dusk-to-dawn curfew in Jangebe in response to the
shootings.

Authorities also demanded that all market
activities in the town stop until further notice,
claiming that they had found evidence that such
activities were helping criminals operate in the
area.

The government’s spokesperson did not explain
how this was connected with Wednesday’s
incident.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari declared a
no-fly zone across the state on Tuesday, and
banned all mining activities.No group has yet said
it carried out the kidnapping.

But it is believed to be the work of criminal
gangs who often stage kidnaps for ransom in
Zamfara, rather than the Boko Haram Islamist group
behind the 2014 kidnapping of schoolgirls in
Chibok, hundreds of miles away.

Source - BBC

... go Back