UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th February, 2021) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned in the strongest terms the abduction of more than 300 schoolgirls in northwest Nigeria and called for their immediate and unconditional release, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Friday.
"The Secretary-General condemns in the [the students' kidnapping] in strongest possible terms and calls for their immediate and unconditional release," Dujarric said during a press briefing.
On Thursday, militants abducted more than 300 schoolgirls in Nigeria's Zamfara state, according to local media.
Guterres urged the Nigerian authorities to do their utmost to ensure that the perpetrators of the crime are brought to justice. He also reminded that attacks on schools constitute a grave violation of human rights.
The UN chief further reaffirmed the support of the world's body to Nigeria in the fight against terrorism and organized crime.
Bandits and terrorists regularly kill and abduct school children in the north of Nigeria to demand ransom, but more often for religious reasons. The most recent attack comes three months after the Islamic terror group Boko Haram abducted more than 300 schoolboys before law enforcement rescued them.
