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Negotiators are trying to secure the release of 300 students after their school was attacked by men armed with AK-47s.
The Government Science High School, a boarding school for boys, was attacked Friday night, according to the governor of Nigeriais Katsina State, Aminu Masari.
About 300 of the students were detained and taken from the school premises.
The government science high school was attacked
A joint rescue mission with Nigerian police, air force and army was launched on Saturday, the government said.
Shortly after the army located the group’s hideout in the Zango / Paula forest, a shooting ensued.
The government is in talks with the bandits who abducted the students and is negotiating the terms for their release, said the office of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Many details of the raid and its aftermath are unknown, and local officials say no group or individual has yet claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of the students.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack and called for “the immediate and unconditional release of the kidnapped children and their safe return to their families.”
Some of the youths were able to escape by jumping over the school’s fence and running for safety after police exchanged shots with the attackers.
Parents meet during a school meeting.
Among those still missing are two sons of Salish Masi, who said: “I am concerned that after three days I will not hear from my children.
“I’ve been waiting for the authorities to tell me what happened but so far they haven’t said anything.”
Another concerned father, Mustapha Gargaba, said that he is very anxious because he does not know what has happened to his son.
The names of the 300 students kidnapped by gunmen
Usama Aminu was one of the lucky ones: he managed to escape.
He said: “When I decided to run, they brought a knife to kill me. But I got away quickly.
“They said they would kill anyone who tried to escape.
“So I started running, climbing one rock to another through a forest.”
Muhammed Abubakar said: ‘I never thought I would see my parents again’
Muhammed Abubakar, 15, also escaped by running through farmland and a forest in the dark.
He was among 72 children who made it to safety in Kaikaibise village, but seven of his friends are missing.
He said: “The bandits called us back. They told us not to run. We started walking back towards them, but as we did so, we saw more people coming towards the bedroom.
“So I and others ran again. We jumped over the fence and ran through a forest to the nearest village.”
He added: “I never thought I would see my parents again.”
Inside one of the school’s classrooms.
Friday’s raid on the school, which has more than 600 students, evoked memories of the kidnapping of more than 270 girls by a terrorist group in 2014. Boko haram in the northeastern state of Borno.
Since then, only about 100 of those girls have been found or released.
Many have appeared in propaganda videos and an unknown number are believed to have died.
Several armed groups operate in northwestern Nigeria, where Katsina State is located, and more than 1,100 people have been killed by bandits during the first half of 2020, according to Amnesty International.
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