Nigeria has a mass kidnapping problem, and this has been an especially horrific month.
On 6 March, 200 civilians – mostly women and children – were taken from a camp for internally displaced people in Borno State. On 7 March, 287 children were taken from Kuriga. On 8 March, 16 civilians were taken from a village in Benue. On 9 March, another school was targeted – this time 15 schoolchildren were taken from their rooms late at night, along with one woman in Sokoto State.And on Tuesday last week, at least 61 people were taken from their homes in a village in Kaduna State’s Kajuru district.
We are in conversation with Nigeria-based development journalist with interest in Social Justice and Global Health topics across Sub-Saharan Africa. As we unpack some of the reasons behind these kidnappings and what is being done to curb the problem.