Nigerian State Closes Schools After 140 Students Kidnapped
Voice of America
ABUJA, NIGERIA - Nigerian authorities in northwest Kaduna state have closed 13 schools after more than 140 students were kidnapped Monday from a Baptist high school. The closures follow a string of armed attacks on schools that authorities say threaten to permanently damage Nigerian children's education.
Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority officials say a risk assessment shows the 13 schools are the most vulnerable to attacks. The attack on Bethel Baptist High school Monday is the latest in a spate of school kidnappings for ransom and the fourth such mass kidnapping in the state in five months. Kaduna authorities said 26 people, including a woman teacher, have been rescued and that troops are searching for missing kidnap victims.Ali Larijani, left, and Saeed Jalili, right, are seen in this 2008 photo by Iranian state-approved news site Asr Iran in 2008. (Asr Iran) Iran's interim president Mohammad Mokhber speaks during the opening ceremony of Iran's 12th parliament in Tehran, Iran, May 27, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS FILE - Presidential candidate Saeed Jalili attends an election debate at a television studio, in Tehran, Iran June 8, 2021. Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/YJC/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS FILE - Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani attends a news conference at the Iranian embassy in Beirut's southern suburbs, as a picture of late Iran's Quds Force top commander Qassem Soleimani is seen in the background, Lebanon February 17, 2020. FILE - Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash and the Russian Ministry of Transport Vitaly Savelyev during a ceremony in Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2023. Iran's Presidency /WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS Parviz Fattah, head of Iranian state-owned enterprise Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order (EIKO), is seen in this photo posted on the EIKO website on May 14, 2024. (EIKO)
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