The Nigerian authorities attributed the abduction of more than 300 schoolchildren to a conflict that arose between local residents over grazing. This was reported by Reuters, citing local officials and security agencies.
Initially, the kidnapping of the boys was mistaken for an attack by the group of Islamist radicals “Boko Haram”. However, the authorities later found out that the nomads from the Fulbe tribe were behind the attack, who quarreled with local Hausa farmers. It is reported that clashes between them are not uncommon: farmers strongly dislike that shepherds allow their cows to graze on their land, and shepherds regularly complain about the stealing of livestock. During the next conflict, the nomads decided to kidnap the children in order to use them as a bargaining chip in the settlement of the dispute.
On December 11, a group of criminals attacked a boarding school in Kankar. Unidentified persons arrived on motorcycles and started shooting indiscriminately. The attack came 48 hours after Nigerian President Muhammadu Bukhari arrived in the state on December 18, the kidnapped boys were released.
Boko Haram in March 2015 swore allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia), after which it changed its name to the West African province of the Islamic State. Boko Haram is known for organizing riots, attacks on Christian churches and police stations, and the mass kidnapping of girls.
