The United Nations has expressed deep concern over the recent surge in mass kidnappings across northern Nigeria.
This alarming trend has seen hundreds of people, including a significant number of schoolchildren, abducted in the past week alone.
The UN Human Rights Office reports that at least 564 individuals have been kidnapped since March 7th.
Criminal gangs operating in the northwest region are the suspected perpetrators.
These groups reportedly target schools, villages, and highways, seeking to snatch large numbers of victims for ransom.
“I am appalled by the recurrent mass abductions of men, women and children in northern Nigeria,” stated UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.
He went on to highlight the specific targeting of children abducted from schools and women taken while collecting firewood.
Turk emphasized the urgent need to address this crisis.
He called on Nigerian authorities to prioritize the safe return of the abducted children.
Additionally, he stressed the importance of conducting thorough investigations to bring those responsible to justice.
“The armed actors perpetrating these attacks must be identified and brought to account,” he declared.
Turk believes that holding perpetrators accountable is a crucial first step towards ending the climate of impunity that fuels these abductions.
