Alert: Islamists Kidnap Over 80 Children Hours After Another Strike Left 1-Day-Old Baby, 7 Christians Dead
Nigerian Christians have come under attack in Nigeria with multiple waves of violence that have left dozens of children kidnapped and other Christians dead.
Over the past week, a series of attacks has left over 80 children missing, according to the Associated Press.
One midweek attack in northeastern Nigeria resulted in the abduction of 42 children. On Friday, attacks on two schools left another 40 children abducted.
Officials believe Boko Haram and a splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province, are responsible for the kidnappings.
Friday’s attack came not long after attacks on nearby Christian communities killed eight people, according to Truth Nigeria.
Deputy Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly Abdullahi Askira said no sooner had troops left the village of Mussa than the terrorists moved in.
“Yes, I can confirm to you that some suspected terrorists riding on motorcycles invaded primary and junior secondary schools in Mussa village this morning,” he said.
“Information at my disposal was that many of the students fled into the bush, but I don’t have details of those abducted yet,” he said.
“It is also disheartening that the incident took place barely some few minutes after troops on patrol left the community; this signifies that the insurgents or the attackers were spying on the movement of troops before they struck,” he said.
The President of the Middle Belt Forum, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, said that in a separate attack, terrorists “crept into three communities around Chibok and started attacking them at the same time around 3 a.m.”
“Each village vigilante group, including local hunters tried their best and even killed some of the Boko Haram terrorists — about five of them,” he said.
“Our people who were killed or injured were those running in different directions due to panic and confusion and became easy targets for the terrorists,” Bitrus said.
He said one of the dead was an infant girl who was only 12 hours old.
Toddlers among more than 50 schoolchildren kidnapped in Nigeria https://t.co/FPim6g5kOi
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 16, 2026
“The mother is also under intensive care in a hospital in Chibok town due to grief and trauma,” he said
“Twenty-three other villagers sustained various gunshot wounds, most of them being local guards,” he said.
The BBC reported that most of the children taken were between 2 and 5 years old.
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