KATSINA, DEC 18 – Security forces on Thursday rescued nearly 350 schoolboys who had been kidnapped in northwestern Nigeria and taken into a vast forest, the governor of Katsina state said, bringing relief to many families.

It was not immediately clear whether all the missing boys had been recovered.

“I think we have recovered most of the boys,” Governor Aminu Bello Masari said in a televised interview with state channel NTA.

Hours earlier a video started circulating online purportedly showing Islamist militants from Boko Haram with some of the boys. Reuters was unable to immediately verify the authenticity of the footage, the boys, or who released it.

The abduction gripped a country already incensed by widespread insecurity, and evoked memories of Boko Haram’s 2014 kidnapping of more than 270 schoolgirls in the northeastern town of Chibok.

Last Friday night, gunmen raided the Government Science Secondary School in Katsina on motorbikes and marched the boys into Rugu forest, in the biggest such incident in the lawless region in recent years.

Masari said a total of 344 boys held in the forest had been freed in the neighbouring Zamfara state. He did not say how many had been missing or how they were freed.

He said security forces had cordoned off the area where the boys were being held and were given instructions not to shoot.

“We thank God that they took our advice and not a single shot was fired,” he said.

The boys were on their way back to Katsina and would be medically examined and reunited with their families on Friday (today), Masari said.

Retired health worker Shuaibu Kankara, whose 13-year-old son Annas Shuaibu was among the kidnapped boys, could not contain his joy at their release.

“I am so happy,” he said. “We are so grateful to the governor of Katsina and all those who worked hard to secure their release.”

His only concern now was reuniting with his son, he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari welcomed the students’ release and asked for patience while his administration dealt with security issues.

“We have a lot of work to do,” he said in a statement but added, “We will deal with all that.”

The abduction was awkward for Buhari, who comes from Katsina and has repeatedly said that Boko Haram has been “technically defeated”.

Harrowing video

Boko Haram had claimed responsibility for the kidnapping in an unverified audio recording.

The video, which featured Boko Haram’s emblem, showed a group of boys in the woods pleading, “Help us, help us.”

The father of one of the missing boys, who gave only his first name Umar, said his son, Shamsu Ibrahim, was one of the boys who is heard speaking in the video.

“All the armies that have come here to help us, please send them back. They can do nothing to help,” the boy says.

Boko Haram has a history of turning captives into militants. If its claims are true, its involvement in northwestern Nigeria marks a geographical expansion in its activities. But it could have purchased the boys from local criminal gangs with which it has been building ties.

Earlier on Thursday, protesters marched in the state capital, also called Katsina, under a banner reading #BringBackOurBoys as pressure mounted on the government to improve security.

“Northern Nigeria has been abandoned at the mercy of vicious insurgents, bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers, rapists and an assortment of hardened criminals,” said Balarabe Ruffin of the Coalition of Northern Groups , which focuses on the welfare of northern Nigerians.

Armed gangs that rob and kidnap for ransom, widely referred to as “bandits”, carry out attacks on communities across the northwest, making it hard for locals to farm, travel or tap rich mineral assets in some states such as gold.

Such gangs killed more than 1,100 people in the first half of 2020 alone, according to rights group Amnesty International.

In the northeast, Boko Haram and its offshoot militant group, Islamic State West Africa Province, have waged a decade-long insurgency estimated to have displaced about 2 million people and killed more than 30,000. They want to create states based on their extreme interpretation of Islamic sharia law.

Buhari, a former military ruler, was elected in 2015 in large part due to his pledge to crush the insurgency. Under his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, Boko Haram grew in strength and controlled territory around the size of Belgium.

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations General Assembly has approved a Pakistan-sponsored resolution that reaffirms the right to self-determination for peoples subjected to colonial, foreign and alien occupation.

The 193-member body adopted the resolution by consensus on Wednesday afternoon when it also considered other human rights issues.

The resolution — “Universal realisation of the right of peoples to self-determination” — clearly stating that self-determination is a fundamental right of all peoples — including those under colonial, foreign and alien domination.

The resolution, which was co-sponsored by 71 countries, observed that “self-determination is a fundamental condition for the guarantee and observance of human rights”.

AKRAM SAYS THE WORLD BODY REAFFIRMED ISLAMABAD’S LEGAL, POLITICAL AND MORAL CASE IN SUPPORT OF KASHMIRIS

Declaring its firm opposition to foreign military intervention, aggression and occupation, the Assembly called on “those States responsible to cease immediately their military intervention in and occupation of foreign countries and territories”.

The world body also “deplored the plight of millions of refugees and displaced persons who have been uprooted as a result of such acts and reaffirmed their right to return”.

Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram said that by adopting Pakistan’s resolution, the General Assembly had “reaffirmed our legal, political and moral case in support of all peoples, including the Kashmiri people, to struggle for self-determination against foreign occupation by all means available to them”.

The text of the resolution was recommended last month by the General Assembly’s Third Committee, which deals with social, humanitarian and cultural issues. While taking up a report on “Social development”, the assembly also “stressed the importance of removing obstacles to realizing the right to self-determination”.

By a recorded vote of 168 in favour to five against with 10 abstentions, the Assembly then adopted draft resolution II — “The right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.” The resolution reaffirms the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including to their independent State of Palestine.

It urged all states and specialised UN agencies to continue to assist Palestinians in the early realisation of this right.

The United States, Israel, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and Nauru voted against the resolution.

Ambassador Akram said the resolution on self-determination had empowered legitimate freedom movements and had also renewed international commitment to help those living under occupation and subjugation. Pakistan, he said, would continue to speak up for all peoples who were suffering under foreign occupation. “This has been a cornerstone of our foreign policy and we are proud to be a voice of the voiceless,” he added.

The General Assembly also proclaimed Aug 31 as the International Day for People of African Descent to “promote greater recognition and respect for the diverse heritage, culture and contribution of people of African descent to the development of societies”.

The Assembly deferred action on two draft resolutions: “Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar”, and “a global call for concrete action for the elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance”. The resolutions would be reviewed after budgetary considerations.

Islamabad 18 Dec 2020 : Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi met his UAE counterpart, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi on 17 December 2020. The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere.

During the meeting, the Foreign Minister underscored the significance accorded by Pakistan to its fraternal relations with the UAE – a brotherly country and an important regional partner.

The two Foreign Ministers reviewed all aspects of bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional and global issues. Foreign Minister Qureshi elaborated the worsening situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the precarious security situation in South Asia. He also outlined Pakistan’s consistent efforts to support peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.

Both Foreign Ministers agreed to enhance the existing strong bilateral ties, in particular in the areas of economy, trade and investment. Foreign Minister Qureshi assured his counterpart of active participation in the Expo 2020. He appreciated the UAE’s leadership for its consistent support Pakistan, especially during COVID-19 pandemic.

Praising the hard work and dedication of Pakistani professionals and workers in the UAE, Foreign Minister Qureshi acknowledged their positive contribution towards progress and development of the UAE as well as Pakistan. He discussed with his counterpart matters pertaining to Pakistani Diaspora’s welfare and stressed the need to further strengthen people to people linkages between the two brotherly countries.

Foreign Minister expressed his sincere appreciation for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to him and his delegation during the visit. He cordially extended an invitation to H.H Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to visit Pakistan on mutually convenient dates in near future which he graciously accepted.