Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Nigerian counterpart on the kidnappings of students from Christian Schools and health centres in Kaduna State during 2021.

The UK Government condemns recent abductions and killings of students, healthcare workers and civilians in Nigeria's northern states, including Kaduna State, and calls for the release of those still held captive. Both Christian and Muslim communities have been affected.

We regularly raise concerns over insecurity, including kidnaps, with the Nigerian Government. For example, I [Minister Duddridge] discussed the impact insecurity has on education with the Nigerian Foreign Minister and Minister of State for Education in July in the margins of the Global Education Summit.