Nigeria’s kidnapped children

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 24 June 2021

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Since December, gangs have seized more than a thousand students and members of staff from schools in armed raids across northern Nigeria. The wave of abductions is having devastating consequences for the country, which already has the highest number of children out of education anywhere in the world. Parents face extortionate financial demands in exchange for the freedom of their sons and daughters, and many families in Africa’s most populous nation are now too afraid to send their children to class. Some have decided to flee rural areas for the relative security of cities, adding to demographic pressures and threatening food supplies as crops go untended. For Assignment, the BBC’s Mayeni Jones travels across north-western Nigeria, meeting those who have been affected by the crisis in order to understand why it has arisen – and what the authorities can do to stop it.

Producers: Naomi Scherbel-Ball in Lagos and Michael Gallagher in London Sound mix: James Beard Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman Editor: Bridget Harney

(Image: Mrs Sani shows a photo of her two daughters Rejoice and Victory. They were kidnapped from their school in March and were finally released after being held captive for almost two months. Credit: BBC)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Say the BBC World Service
0:10.8	welcome to assignment. The temptation from you glad the
0:17.0	pray the holy name in prayer.
0:21.0	We pray for our nation. This nation is burning. This nation is decayed. In a town in northern Nigeria, people have gathered for funeral.
0:36.0	Pray that the Lord will take charge.
0:38.0	Pray for the father, pray for the mother.
0:41.0	Their heart is heavy. Pray!
0:46.0	There are about a hundred people here in the courtyard of the home of Dorothy,
0:50.0	Johanna. She was a 23-year-old student and they were praying for her and whispering in order not to disturb them
0:57.1	Her parents had long fear that the security situation were proved dangerous for her and yesterday
1:02.4	their worst fears were confirmed when they were told were in our nation. Father, we have confused.
1:14.8	Gracious name, O our sweet.
1:20.8	Hope a path and joy on every. Dorothy was the daughter of Meck and Lydia Johanna, a middle class couple based in the northern
1:32.3	state of Kaduna. She was one of 23 students and staff
1:36.9	at the nearby Greenfield University who were abducted at gunpoint on the night of the 20th of April. The kidnapers forced Dorothy to make a harrowing phone call to her mother from captivity.
1:50.0	She said, hey mommy, they came to our school yesterday night and kidnapped us,
1:55.5	we are in the bush.
1:57.5	Then she now said, mommy, come and see all they are just beating us,
2:01.5	all my body.
2:03.0	Mommy, please help me.
2:05.0	Go down to Jesus.
2:07.0	Hold down to Jesus.
	...

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