Essay: Nigerian bandits strategically target school children for kidnappings – here’s why
OLUWOLE OJEWALE, regional coordinator for the Institute for Security Studies, explains why school children are all too often targets for kidnappers in Nigeria…
Nigerian army rescues abducted Kaduna students
Maiduguri, Nigeria Reuters The Nigerian army on Sunday rescued students and staff who were abducted by gunmen from a school in the country’s north earlier this month, the military said, days before the deadline for a ransom payment. A boy holds a sign to protest against, what a teacher, local councillor and parents said, the […]
Essay: Why schoolchildren are regularly being targeted by terrorist groups in many countries
In an article first published on The Conversation, BRIAN J PHILLIPS, co-author of ‘Insurgent Terrorism: Intergroup Relations and the Killing of Civilians’, explores what’s behind what appears to be an escalating trend of terrorism against schools…
Australian court overturns ruling requiring mine approvals to weigh climate harm
Melbourne, AustraliaReuters An Australian court on Tuesday overturned a groundbreaking ruling from last year that required the country’s environment minister to consider harm to children from climate change as part of the approval process for a coal mine. The full Federal Court decided unanimously in favour of the appeal by Environment Minister Sussan Ley against […]
Bandits release 10 students kidnapped two months ago from Nigerian school
Kaduna, NigeriaReuters Bandits have released 10 more students kidnapped two months ago from a Baptist school in northwest Nigeria, the school administrator told Reuters on Saturday. Rev John Hayab, administrator of the Bethel Baptist High School, said 21 students from the school remained in captivity. He said an undisclosed ransom was paid to release eight […]
Five girls rescued after Nigeria’s latest mass kidnapping, police say
Maiduguri, NigeriaReuters Five girls who were among 73 children kidnapped from a school in north-western Nigeria have been rescued, police in Zamfara State said on Thursday, although other sources gave different details in the aftermath of the mass abduction. Wednesday’s attack on a secondary school in the village of Kaya was the latest in a […]
Desperate Nigerians sell homes and land to free kidnapped children
Tegina, NigeriaReuters After armed men snatched seven of Abubakar Adam’s 11 children in northwestern Nigeria, he sold his car and a parcel of land and cleaned out his savings to raise a ransom to free them. He sent his three million naira ($US7,300) into the bush, together with payments from other families in his town […]
Kidnappers in Nigeria demand ransom to release 80 schoolchildren
Kaduna, NigeriaReuters Kidnappers are demanding a ransom of one million naira each to release around 80 children snatched from a boarding school in northern Nigeria last month, according to a pastor involved in the negotiations for their release. The attack on the Bethel Baptist High School in the state of Kaduna was the 10th mass […]
Hong Kong school children form human chain after weekend of protests
Hong KongReuters Hundreds of uniformed school students, many wearing masks, formed human chains in districts across Hong Kong on Monday in support of anti-government protesters after another weekend of clashes in the Chinese-ruled city. Metro stations reopened after some were closed on Sunday amid sometimes violent confrontations, although the mood in the Asian financial hub […]
Almost 80 school children kidnapped in Cameroon freed, say reports
The 79 children kidnapped from a school in north-west Cameroon on Sunday have reportedly been freed. AFP has reported that Communications Minister Issa Bakary Tchiroma has said all the students have been released. Two staff members abducted – the principal and a teacher – are reportedly still being held but there are reports a driver was […]