Armed attackers seized high school students and fellow travelers in Nigeria’s Benue state on Thursday as the students were en route to take university entrance examinations, marking the first reported student kidnapping of the year in the West African nation.
Criminal gangs and extremist groups routinely attack travelers, school children and farming communities throughout Nigeria. Officials have not identified which group they suspect carried out Thursday’s kidnapping.
The assault took place on the Makurdi-Otukpo highway, according to Governor Hyacinth Alia, who condemned the incident as a “cowardly act.” While the governor did not specify the number of victims, news outlets in the region reported that 17 students remain unaccounted for.
“The targeting of innocent citizens, particularly students on their way to sit for examinations, is unacceptable and stands against every norm of humanity and civil order,” Alia said in a statement.
Law enforcement and military units have begun search and rescue missions, with the governor ordering that “no effort be spared” to find the missing individuals.
These large-scale abductions persist despite ongoing government promises to stop such attacks, continuing to interfere with schooling, business operations, and transportation while leaving angry citizens questioning whether officials can effectively combat the security crisis.
President Donald Trump has pointed to Nigeria’s security problems as justification for potential military intervention, claiming Christians face persecution in the country. Nigerian leadership, which includes both Christian and Muslim officials, maintains that the violence impacts followers of both faiths equally.
