The wait has been excruciating for parents whose children were kidnapped by gunmen two weeks ago and it shows no sign of ending. Many families say authorities are failing to treat the rescue of their children as an urgent priority.
More than 250 students remain in captivity after armed attackers stormed a Catholic boarding school in the early hours of Nov. 21, abducting over 300 children and staff members. School officials say about 50 children managed to escape.
The attack is one of Nigeria’s most devastating mass kidnappings since Boko Haram abducted 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014.
Security forces say rescue operations are ongoing, but parents say official reassurances offer little comfort as days pass without progress or proof of life.
President Bola Tinubu has declared a security emergency and ordered the recruitment of additional security personnel to confront the escalating threat.
Mass kidnappings of schoolchildren have become distressingly common across Nigeria, where armed groups including criminal gangs specializing in ransom abductions continue to expand their operations. According to data compiled by the Associated Press, at least a dozen mass school abductions have occurred since 2014, with no fewer than 1,799 students kidnapped during that period.
Some of the abducted children are never found.
