More than 330 students are missing from the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara after gunmen with assault rifles attacked their school Friday night.
"What happened in Katsina was done to promote Islam and discourage un-Islamic practices as Western education is not the type of education permitted by Allah and his Holy Prophet," the paper quoted Shekau as saying. Nigerian presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said in a statement Monday that "the kidnappers had made contact and discussions were already on, pertaining to the safety and return" of the children to their homes.Several armed groups operate in northwestern Nigeria where Katsina state is located. It was originally believed that the attackers were bandits, who sometimes work with Boko Haram.
Many of the more than 600 male students were able to escape during the attack while the police engaged in a gunfight, according to Katsina State police spokesman Gambo Isah.The most serious school attack took place in April 2014, when more than 270 schoolgirls were abducted from their dormitory at the Government Secondary School in Chibok in northeastern Borno State. About 100 of the girls are still missing. Boko Haram said at the time that it wanted to stop women from attending schools.