Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday declared a sweeping security emergency as the country confronts a sharp rise in large-scale abductions.
"This is a national emergency, and we are responding by deploying more boots on the ground, especially in security-challenged areas," Tinubu said in a statement.
In just a week, assailants kidnapped 25 schoolgirls, 38 worshippers, 315 school children and teachers, 13 young women and girls walking near a farm, and another 10 women and children -- across parts of the country.
Dozens have been rescued, others escaped but more than 265 children and their teachers seized from a boarding school in the country's Niger state on Friday are still missing.
"In view of the emerging security situation, I have decided to declare a nationwide security emergency and order additional recruitment into the Armed Forces," he said.
