Written question asked by Ruth Jones (Labour) on Thursday, 14 March 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 18 March 2024. It was answered by Andrew Mitchell (Conservative) on Friday, 22 March 2024 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Nigeria: Abduction

Question: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the kidnappings of schoolchildren in Nigeria.

Answer: The UK Government is monitoring the recent kidnappings of schoolchildren in Nigeria and condemns this crime. At the latest UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership (SDP) dialogue in February, we strengthened our commitment to providing mentoring and capacity-building support to agencies tackling the threat of kidnap within Nigeria. As part of this partnership, the UK National Crime Agency is working with Nigeria to create a Multi-Agency Kidnap Fusion Cell to increase interoperability between security and justice agencies responding to kidnaps. This will help reduce harm to victims and hold those responsible to account.

Secondary information