By: Emily Bracher

On Friday, December 12th, a group of bandits raided the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Nigeria. Now, hundreds of students are missing, the president reporting that the military is currently in “gunfights” with the bandits as they search for the students.

In a statement made by Gambo Isah, a Katsina State police spokesman, the group entered with “AK-47 rifles” and the police engaged by firing back, which gave some of the students the time to “scale the fence of the school and run for safety.” 

There are an estimated 400 out of the 600 students missing. The police, Nigerian Army, and Nigerian Airforce work with school authorities to pin down the exact number of missing/kidnapped students. 

The location of the bandits is in the Zango/Paula forest in the Kankara area. “Our prayers are with the families of the students, the school authorities, and the injured,” stated President Muhhamadu Buhari. His statement did not include if any of these students have been rescued. 

An attack like this is nothing new, many of the several groups in that northwestern region are known for kidnapping at random. In similar events, the Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from their school dorm in Chibok (northeastern Borno State) in April 2014. Around 10 of those girls are still missing.