Nigeria: 73 students kidnapped by terrorists in yet another attack on school children

Nigerian police said on Wednesday that gunmen kidnapped 73 students in ar school attack in rrn Nigeria, leading authorities to close all elementary and secondary schools in Zamfara state. According to local resident Yusuf Mohammed, attackers stormed Government Day Secondary School in isolated vill of Kaya on Wednesday.

kidnappers n began shooting into air before abducting children.  new kidnappings come just days after three or sets of hosts were reportedly freed after substantial ransom payments.

1,000 children have been kidnapped since December

Since December, almost 1,000 children have been kidnapped from schools in rrn Nigeria. According to UNICEF, while majority of students have eventually been released, several were killed while in captivity, and about 200 remained captives before Wednesday's attack. Officials from government haven't said wher y had anything to do with host releases reported on Friday, but it appears that parents from at least one of schools paid a large ransom.

Many parents in Niger state sold most of ir belongings in order to raise finances totalling more than 30 million naira (about $72,900). A teacher from one of Nigeria's schools mentioned that Salihu Tanko Islamiya School had sold a plot of land where y had planned an expansion project.

It's still unclear wher kidnappers of three different host groups last week were linked or if simultaneous releases were just a coincidence. events took place in different states and drew students of various s. This year's rash of kidnappings has been blamed on criminals operating out of isolated, forested parts of rrn Nigeria, according to authorities.

majority of shooters are reported to be young Fulani males who used to work as cattle herders before turning to lucrative crime of kidnapping children for ransom.

Some worry that Gunmen are linked to Islamic militants

Some worry that gunmen in rthwest are linked to Islamic militants who have long operated in rast. y attracted international criticism in 2014 when y abducted 276 schoolgirls in Chibok. More than a hundred of those girls have gone missing and two have just been found, both of whom had children with militants y were forced to marry.

(Inputs from AP News)

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