Nigeria Continues to be Terrorized by Extremist Group Boko Haram

Nigerian-natives are left in despair and turmoil once again, as the country continues to be terrorized by the extremist group Boko Haram.  Authorities say that as many as 200 girls were abducted from their boarding school in northeast Nigera when witnesses say heavily armed members of the Islamist militant group arrived in a large convoy of vans, trucks, and busses late Monday evening. This coming just a day after a blast at a bus station in the nation’s capital, Abuja, killed 71 people, while also injuring 133. An incident that is also being attributed to Boko Haram.

Officials say that the convoy of vehicles arrived at about 9 PM, as the students slept in their dormitories. They then engaged the soldiers who were guarding the school in a lengthy firefight. After killing both of the soldiers, they stormed the school, gathered up the children, and took the girls back to their vehicles. The gunmen also proceeded to burn down local homes and businesses in the Borno State town as they fled with the students.

“Many girls were abducted by the rampaging gunmen who stormed the school in a convoy of vehicles,” said Emmanuel Sam, an education official in Chibok. Sam could not say how many of the girls were kidnapped, but one student who managed to escape estimates that the number could be as high as 200. The student is one of a dozen girls who managed to escape their abductors when one of the vehicles broke down, and some of the men were forced to leave the students and attempt to fix the automobile. 

The student student who escaped from the convoy, told authorities that when the original truck they were being transported on broke down, they were transferred to another vehicle as the abductors burned the truck. Then, when a second vehicle broke down, the group of students were able to make a run for it, and eventually found their way back to the school.

The incident is one of many that have recently attributed to the group, as their frequency of attacks within the region continues to rise. It is also undoubtedly a follow-up attack to a video that Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau released last month, which threatened to raid and abduct girls from schools. A threat that led to the decision by the Borno State government to shutdown all of its 85 secondary schools and send home more than 120,000 students in early March.

Boko Haram, which translates to english as “western education is sin,” continues to wage their campaign of violence in northeast Nigeria. Nigeria continues to be terrorized by the extremist group, while the frequency, along with the severity of the attacks continue to escalate. The group’s exact demands are somewhat unclear. However, what they have made known to the public, is that their ambitions range from a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across the predominately muslim northern region of Nigeria. Along with the total destruction of the Nigeria state and its government.