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| Nigerian women protesting for the government to do more to rescue the kidnapped Chibok school girls |
Extremists kidnapped more than 300 Nigerian girls, missing up to 276, police confirm
Police said Friday the number of kidnapped schoolgirls who
remain missing in Nigeria is 276, up by more than 30 from a previous estimate.
They said the actual number abducted by the Islamic
extremists on April 14 was more than 300. Police Commissioner Tanko Lawan
revised the number of girls and young women who have escaped to 53.
He said the known number of abducted girls rose because
students from other schools were brought into one school for final exams last
month after all schools in Borno state were shut because of attacks by Islamic
extremists. The ability of authorities to get a handle on how many girls were
affected was hampered by poor communications, with the military often cutting
cellphone service under a state of emergency and travel made dangerous on roads
where travellers are frequently attacked by the militants.
“That is why, after the unfortunate incident, there were
various numbers flying around,” Lawan said.
The mass abduction comes in conjunction with two bombings in
three weeks in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. Hundreds of women protested the mass
kidnapping in at least three cities this week and the failure of security
forces to rescue the girls.
Source: AP via Edmonton Journal
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