One million Nigerian children to miss school due to mass kidnappings, UNICEF says

FILE PHOTO: A view shows an empty classroom at the Government Science school where gunmen abducted students, in Kankara, in northwestern Katsina state, Nigeria December 14, 2020. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

ABUJA (Reuters) - At least one million Nigerian children could miss school this year as the new term begins amid a rise in mass school kidnappings and insecurity, the United Nations children's agency UNICEF said on Wednesday.

Schools have become targets for mass abductions for ransom in northern Nigeria by armed groups. Such kidnappings in Nigeria were first carried out by jihadist group Boko Haram then later its offshoot Islamic State West Africa Province, but the tactic has now been adopted by criminal gangs.