What to know about abductions of schoolchildren in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria says more schoolchildren have been abducted in the country’s volatile north.

It’s not immediately clear who’s to blame in the latest seizure in Kebbi state, an act that has come to define insecurity in Africa’s most populous nation and the painful consequences. Kidnappers in the past have included the Boko Haram insurgency that carried out the mass abduction of 276 Chibok schoolgirls over a decade ago, bringing the extremist group to global attention. But groups of bandits are also active.

At least 1,500 students have been seized in the years since that Chibok attack. Here’s what’s to know about northern Nigeria’s widespread insecurity that affects children and adults — and Christians and Muslims — alike.

Boko Haram and an Islamic State affiliate

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