Damasak kidnapping

Last updated

In March 2015, several children were kidnapped by Boko Haram, apparently during the months-long occupation of the town of Damasak by the group. [lower-alpha 1] The Jonathan government was accused of ignoring this incident. [1] [2]

Years later the victims were still unaccounted for. [3] [4]

Notes

  1. This was related to the Damasak massacre.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borno State</span> State of Nigeria

Borno State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Yobe to the west for about 421 km, Gombe to the southwest for 93 km, and Adamawa to the south while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon for about 426 km, its northern border forms part of the national border with Niger, for about 223 km mostly across the Komadougou-Yobe River, and its northeastern border forms all of the national border with Chad for 85 km, being the only Nigerian state to border three foreign countries. It takes its name from the historic emirate of Borno, with the emirate's old capital of Maiduguri serving as the capital city of Borno State. The state was formed in 1976 when the former North-Eastern State was broken up. It originally included the area that is now Yobe State, which became a distinct state in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goodluck Jonathan</span> President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015

Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari and was the first incumbent president in Nigerian history to concede defeat in an election and therefore allow for a peaceful transition of power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boko Haram</span> Central-West African jihadist terrorist organization

Boko Haram, officially known as Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād, is an Islamist jihadist organization based in northeastern Nigeria, which is also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group split, resulting in the emergence of a hostile faction known as the Islamic State's West Africa Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boko Haram insurgency</span> Terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Boko Haram insurgency began in July 2009, when the militant Islamist and jihadist rebel group Boko Haram started an armed rebellion against the government of Nigeria. The conflict is taking place within the context of long-standing issues of religious violence between Nigeria's Muslim and Christian communities, and the insurgents' ultimate aim is to establish an Islamic state in the region.

Damasak is the head town of the Mobbar Local Government Area, in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno. It is located near the confluence of the Yobe River and Komadugu Gana River, adjoining the border with Niger.

Timeline of the Boko Haram insurgency is the chronology of the Boko Haram insurgency, an ongoing armed conflict between Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram and the Nigerian government. Boko Haram have carried out many attacks against the military, police and civilians since 2009, mostly in Nigeria. The low-intensity conflict is centred on Borno State. It peaked in the mid 2010s, when Boko Haram extended their insurgency into Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping</span> Kidnapping of female students in Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria

On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 mostly Christian female students aged from 16 to 18 were kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School at the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. Prior to the raid, the school had been closed for four weeks due to deteriorating security conditions, but the girls were in attendance in order to take final exams in physics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sambisa Forest</span> Forest in Borno State

The Sambisa Forest is a forest in Borno State, northeast Nigeria. It is in the southwestern part of Chad Basin National Park, about 60km southeast of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. It has an area of 518 km².

From 20 to 23 June 2014, a series of attacks occurred in Borno State, Nigeria. 91 women and children were kidnapped in the attacks and more than 70 people were killed.

Religious violence in Nigeria refers to Christian-Muslim strife in modern Nigeria, which can be traced back to 1953. Today, religious violence in Nigeria is dominated by the Boko Haram insurgency, which aims to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria. Since the turn of the 21st century, 62,000 Nigerian Christians have been killed by the terrorist group Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen and other groups. The killings have been referred to as a silent genocide.

The following lists events from 2014 in Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slavery in 21st-century jihadism</span> Modern slavery by quasi-state-level jihadist groups

Quasi-state-level jihadist groups, including Boko Haram and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, have captured and enslaved women and children, often for sexual slavery. In 2014 in particular, both groups organised mass kidnappings of large numbers of girls and younger women.

The 2015 Baga massacre was a series of mass killings carried out by the Boko Haram terrorist group in the north-eastern Nigerian town of Baga and its environs, in the state of Borno, between 3 January and 7 January 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 West African offensive</span> Coalition offensive against Boko Haram

Starting in late January 2015, a coalition of West African troops launched an offensive against the Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Turus</span> British military operation in Nigeria

Operation Turus is the code name of the British military operation to assist Nigeria during the Boko Haram insurgency. It was launched in April 2014 by Prime Minister David Cameron in response to the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping which saw over a hundred schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram, a jihadist terrorist organisation in northeastern Nigeria. Initial efforts were focused on the search for the missing schoolgirls, with the UK deploying military specialists, satellite imagery and reconnaissance aircraft from the Royal Air Force. According to a source quoted in The Observer, the UK successfully located the missing schoolgirls and offered to rescue them but this offer was rejected by the Nigerian government which considered it a national issue. Most of the schoolgirls remain missing.

On February 19, 2018, at 5:30 pm, 110 schoolgirls aged 11–19 years old were kidnapped by the Boko Haram terrorist group from the Government Girls' Science and Technical College (GGSTC). Dapchi is located in Bulabulin, Bursari Local Government area of Yobe State, in the northeast part of Nigeria. The federal government of Nigeria deployed the Nigerian Air Force and other security agencies to search for the missing schoolgirls and to hopefully enable their return. The governor of Yobe State, Ibrahim Gaidam, blamed Nigerian Army soldiers for having removed a military checkpoint from the town. Dapchi lies approximately 275 km northwest of Chibok, where over 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kidnapping in Nigeria</span> National organized crime challenge

Kidnapping is a major problem in Nigeria in the early 21st century. Kidnapping by bandits and insurgents is among the biggest organised or gang crime in Nigeria and is a national security challenge.

The Damasak massacre was a series of massacres and mass execution committed by Boko Haram in the city of Damasak, Nigeria.

During the evening of 11 December 2020, over 300 pupils were kidnapped from a boys' secondary boarding school on the outskirts of Kankara, Katsina State, northern Nigeria. A gang of gunmen on motorcycles attacked the Government Science Secondary School, where more than 800 pupils reside, for over an hour.

Battle of Damasak took place on the 18 March 2015 when Nigerien and Chadian armies attacked Boko Haram the Nigerian town of Damasak. Boko Haram was pushed out of the town after less than a day of heavy fighting. Damasak was captured on the 24th of November 2014 by Boko Haram and was under their control until this battle. By the time the town was recaptured it had been mostly deserted..The civilians who remained were too old or too sick to leave. After the battle Chadian soldiers set up camps outside of the town and two Chadian helicopters arrived with supplies.

References

  1. Obiajuru, Nomso (2016-04-01). "Shocking! How Boko Haram kidnapped 300 School children and no one said anything". Legit.ng - Nigeria news. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  2. akinloye, dimeji (2016-03-31). "How Jonathan govt covered abduction of 300 children in Damasak - Report". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  3. thisage. "B/Haram: Kidnapped Damasak Children Ignored By FG". THISAGE | Breaking News from Nigeria and Around the World. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  4. Admin (2017-03-06). "The Grieving Families Of Damasak School Children Kidnapped By Boko Haram And Ignored By The Nigerian Government | SundiataPost" . Retrieved 2022-01-10.