At least 50 school girls are still missing after Boko Haram jihadists raided and looted a school in Yobe, on Monday.
Many teachers and pupils fled from the school as militants approached shooting into the air as they entered the town. Many fled into bushes in the surrounding area. Militants had apparently looted the school and left three hours later.
Two days later, it is not known exactly how many girls are missing and authorities are searching the area in search of girls still in hiding. Some parents said up to 90 girls could be missing. Some of the girls that fled the scene were recovered almost 30km away from the school.
The incident comes four years after the kidnapping of 270 girls in Chibok, which is 275km away from Yobe.
Chibok Girls
In May, 2017, a large group of the girls were released after the government released five Boko Haram prisoners.
In September, 2017, over 100 girls were reunited with their families in Abuja, but about a 100 girls are still being held captive by the group.
During the militant groups' eight year long insurgency in Northern Nigeria, thousands have been captured and are still being held captive.
Why are school girls a target?
Boko Haram loosely translates to "Western education is sin". Some of the girls that were released reported that the kidnapping was part of a punishment for seeking an education. Some girls are also forced into marriage with some of the militants and are raped within and outside of "marriage".
