Nigeria closes schools in Kwara state over fears of new attacks

Nigerian authorities have shut schools in five districts of central Kwara state, over fears they could be targeted by armed gangs after a deadly attack on a church in the state earlier this week.

The country has witnessed a spate of recent attacks by gunmen, including the kidnapping on Monday of 25 schoolgirls from a boarding school in northwestern Kebbi state.

The incidents have put a spotlight on insecurity and forced President Bola Tinubu to postpone foreign trips, including to this weekend’s G20 Summit in Johannesburg.

On Tuesday evening, two people were killed and others kidnapped from the church is Kwara, which borders Benin in the west of the country.

Nigeria is under scrutiny from US President Donald Trump who has threatened military action over the treatment of Christians in the country. Tinubu has sent a delegation to the US to clarify what he says is a misrepresentation of a complex security situation.