The United Nations Tuesday condemned a surge in mass kidnappings in north-central Nigeria, calling on the authorities to take urgent steps to halt the attacks and bring perpetrators to justice.
"We are shocked at the recent surge in mass abductions in north-central Nigeria," UN rights office spokesman Thameen al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva.
"We urge the Nigerian authorities -- at all levels -- to take all lawful measures to ensure such vile attacks are halted and to hold those responsible to account."
His comments came as the recent abduction of hundreds of Nigerians, including almost 350 schoolchildren in just a matter of days, has reignited a pressing debate about the persistent security crisis gripping the country.
"At least 402 people, most of them schoolchildren, have been abducted in the states of Niger, Kebbi, Kwara and Borno since 17 November," Kheetan said, adding that "only 88 of them have reportedly been freed or have escaped from their captors".
He called on "Nigerian authorities to ensure the safe return of all those still in captivity to their families, and to prevent further abductions".
"They must also hold prompt, impartial and effective investigations into abductions and bring those responsible to justice."
Mounting security fears in Africa's most populous nation have sparked a wave of school closures across some parts of the country.
Since militants kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls from Chibok town in northeast Borno State more than a decade ago, Nigeria has struggled with a spate of mass kidnappings, mostly carried out by criminal gangs looking for ransom payments.
Borno State is also the centre of a long-running insurgency that has killed more than 40,000 people since 2009.
Front pages featuring major headlines are displayed at a newspaper stall in Abuja, Nigeria.
