An operation to rescue more than 300 girls kidnapped in Nigeria had failed to pinpoint their location by late on Friday, almost 24 hours after gunmen seized them in a raid on their school. In a statement isued late on Friday, he also appealed to state administrations not to reward bandits with money or vehicles. Parents also had no faith in authorities to return their kidnapped girls, said Mohammed Usman Jangebe told Reuters by phone. Islamic State's West Africa branch in 2018 kidnapped more than 100 schoolgirls in northeast Nigeria, all but one of whom - the only Christian - were released. Perhaps the most notorious kidnapping in recent years was when Boko Haram militants abducted 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno state in April 2014.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 26, 2021 20:37 UTC