{"id":2371,"date":"2026-05-16T14:42:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T14:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/gunmen-storm-schools-and-kidnap-50-children-as-toddlers-used-as-human-shields\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T14:42:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T14:42:34","slug":"gunmen-storm-schools-and-kidnap-50-children-as-toddlers-used-as-human-shields","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/gunmen-storm-schools-and-kidnap-50-children-as-toddlers-used-as-human-shields\/","title":{"rendered":"Gunmen storm schools and kidnap 50 children as toddlers &#8216;used as human shields&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article-body\">\n<h2 class=\"LeadText_lead-text__wd_PA __className_184259\" data-testid=\"leadtext\">More than 50 children, mostly aged between two and five, are missing after being snatched by gunmen who stormed three schools in Nigeria, locals say<\/h2>\n<div class=\"Byline_byline-container__K_Owl\" data-testid=\"byline\"><span class=\"Byline_byline-content-wrapper__Imque\" data-testid=\"byline-content\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"Byline_author-badge-date-wrapper__Q7jj1\">\n<p><span class=\"\" data-testid=\"byline-publishedDate\"><\/span><span class=\"ArticleTimestamp_updated-date__7qD4Q ArticleTimestamp_updated-date-with-published__iFKpF\" data-testid=\"byline-updatedDate\">Updated <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX ImageEmbed_image-lead__Ti3qQ\" data-testid=\"leadimage\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"37165607\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\"  src=\"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2_NIGERIA-CHAD-CONFLICT.jpg\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Locals say more than 50 children have been taken (file image)\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Locals say more than 50 children have been taken (file image)<cite aria-label=\"Image: AFP via Getty Images\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: AFP via Getty Images)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Gunmen have stormed three schools in Nigeria and kidnapped more than 50 children, teachers and local residents have said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The armed abduction happened in Mussa, Borno state in north-eastern Nigeria on Friday morning. Witnesses said security forces were unable to open fire because the suspects used the children as human shields while fleeing on motorbikes. Most of the missing children are aged between two and five years old.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">They were taken from the town&#8217;s Government Day Secondary School, Mussa Central Primary School, and State Universal Basis Education Board (SUBEB) Primary School.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">No group has claimed responsibility for the attack and government officials have yet to comment.<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"image-group\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX false\" data-testid=\"imageembed-37165721\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"37165721\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"image\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Nigerian soldiers from the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) park during training at the MNJTF military base, Sector 3 Headquarters, in Monguno, Borno state, Nigeria, on July 5, 2025. Twelve checkpoints manned by the Nigerian army control the various entrances to Monguno.&#10;\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_NIGERIA-CHAD-CONFLICT.jpg\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Witnesses said security forces were unable to open fire as the suspects fled the scene with the children on motorbikes (file image)\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Witnesses said security forces were unable to open fire as the suspects fled the scene with the children on motorbikes (file image)<cite aria-label=\"Image: AFP via Getty Images\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: AFP via Getty Images)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Some reports suggest the attack could have been carried out by Boko Haram &#8211; a group which has long been locked in a battle for control over the region with rival faction Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap).<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Nigeria is facing a surge in mass kidnappings carried out by various armed groups. Residents in Borno state are among those living under the shadow of continued violence, forcing some of them to leave their homes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Devastated families say they have no choice but to desperately wait for updates on their missing children.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">One father, who asked not to be identified over fears of retaliation, told the <a target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/c202vrxlwqgo\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">BBC <\/a>his wife had been left distraught after the gunmen abducted his six-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Abdu Dunama, headmaster of Mussa Central Primary School, said he heard shots being fired before the armed men stormed the school and began rounding up children. Mr Dunama said 34 children, mostly aged five and under, were snatched from their classrooms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Security forces and troops are continuing efforts to track the perpetrators, he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/world-news\/nigeria-children-kidnapped-mussa-borno-37165580\" target=\"_blank\">Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More than 50 children, mostly aged between two and five, are missing after being snatched<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778942554_2_NIGERIA-CHAD-CONFLICT.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}