The gunmen who kidnapped more than 300 schoolchildren in Katsina state, north-west Nigeria, last week may have got help from Boko Haram, state Governor Aminu Bello Masari told the BBC.
His statement comes after the Islamist militant group said it was responsible for the abduction.
But Governor Masari repeated the authorities’ view that the attack was carried by local bandits.
“One cannot precisely say there is no Boko Haram at all but those who [carried out the attack] are not Boko Haram, are not known to be members of Boko Haram,” he told our reporter Mayeni Jones.
“Maybe [they helped] through training or some other means of assistance to the local bandits but all the names we have so far are names of the local bandits.”
The governor also told the BBC that the security forces have made contact with the kidnappers and have some idea where they are.
He said the authorities will not deal with Boko Haram and neither would they agree to paying a ransom.
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https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.36.7/iframe.htmlVideo caption: Nigeria’s Katsina sch
BBC
