School term delayed in Nigerian capital zone amid kidnapping crisis

The start of the school term has been pushed back to an unusually late date in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) without explanation, after schools in nearby states were targeted by kidnappers seeking ransoms.

More than 1,100 pupils have been abducted from their schools across northwest Nigeria since December, including in the states of Kaduna and Niger, which border the FCT to the north and west.

Several parents in the FCT told correspondents their children had turned up at their schools this week expecting lessons to start only to be told the new term would not commence until Sept. 19.