INFOGRAPHIC - Boko Haram abductions of Nigerian schoolgirls continue

ABUJA, Nigeria (AA) - The Nigerian terrorist organization Boko Haram has kidnapped nearly 400 schoolgirls after raiding their schools within the span of just four years.

Boko Haram kidnapped schoolgirls for the first time in 2014 when it raided a school in Borno province’s Chibok region.

The organization kidnapped girls for the second time last February when it raided a boarding school in Dapchi in Yobe state.

Until now, 266 kidnapped students have been rescued, 120 are either presumed dead or still held captive by the group.

- Chibok raid

Boko Haram kidnapped 276 female students from the country's northeastern boarding school in Borno province on April 14, 2014.

Later, 57 kidnapped girls succeeded in escaping. Since then there have been massive campaigns to rescue the remaining 219 students from the terrorist group.

So far, 23 kidnapped girls have been rescued in operations carried out by security forces of Nigeria in the Sambisa Forests located in the north of the country.

Later, the terror group released 82 girls in exchange for its five arrested members.

It was alleged that some of the remaining 114 students were killed during airstrikes by the Nigerian Air Force and some of them got married to members of the Boko Haram and had refused to return home.

- Dapchi raid

On Feb. 19, the Boko Haram raided a boarding school in Dapchi in the northeastern state of Yobe and kidnapped 110 students. On March 21, a total of 104 kidnapped students were released.

Nigerian Information Minister Lai Muhammad denied that negotiations or agreements with the terrorist group resulted in the recent release of the girls from capitivity.

Five kidnapped students lost their lives while a Christian girl who refused to convert remains still in the hostage of the Boko Haram, Muhammad added.

- 8.6M children vulnerable

Despite having oil and natural gas resources, Nigeria has serious challenges in the education sector. Children cannot go to school due to terrorism threats, internal conflicts and corruption.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics of Nigeria, despite being one of the most developed countries in West Africa, almost half of its children work due to poverty.

The Ministry of Education also said 8.6 million children across the country cannot go to school due to poverty, displacements by internal conflicts, and attacks by the Boko Haram.

The Boko Haram, which has been active in Nigeria since the beginning of the year 2000, carried out massive acts of violence in 2009 following the death of its leaders, Muhammad Yusuf, in custody. Boko Haram is said to have been responsible for the death of 17,000 lives.

The organization is also responsible for the abduction of a large number of troops. Starting from last year it expanded its effects to the country's border and increased attacks to neighboring Cameroon, Benin, Chad and Niger.