Pope Francis speaks on insecurity in Nigeria

Head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has condemned the abduction of 317 schoolgirls in Zamfara by terrorists, in what is the latest in a wave of kidnappings targeting school children in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation.

Armed attackers invaded the school located in Jangebe, Zamfara on motorbikes around 1 am on Friday, February 26, 2021, and corralled the girls into trucks from where they were driven into the heart of the forest, in a manner reminiscent of the abduction of over 270 schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State in 2014.

“I join my voice to that of the Bishops of Nigeria to condemn the vile kidnapping of the 317 girls, taken away from their school in Jangebe. I am praying for these girls so they might return home soon. I am near to their families,” the Pope tweeted on Sunday.

Nigerian authorities and law enforcement have said they are doing everything to set the girls free.
The Jangebe abduction occurred only days after 27 students and 15 others were abducted from the Government Science College, Kagara in Niger State on February 17; and after 344 boys were similarly abducted from a school in Kankara, Katsina State in December 2020.

The Kagara and Kankara abductees have since been freed.