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Officials in Nigeria have ensured the liberation of one hundred abducted schoolchildren taken by armed men from a religious school last month, as stated by a United Nations official and local media this past Sunday. Nevertheless, the whereabouts of a further 165 individuals thought to still be under the control of kidnappers remained uncertain.

Context

In November, three hundred and fifteen students and staff were taken from a mixed boarding school in north-central Niger state, as the nation was gripped by a surge of mass abductions similar to the well-known 2014 Boko Haram abduction of schoolgirls in a town in north-east Nigeria.

Around 50 managed to flee in the immediate aftermath, leaving two hundred and sixty-five presumed in captivity.

The Handover

The a hundred students are scheduled to be released to Niger state officials this Monday, as per the source.

“They are going to be released to Niger state government on Monday,” the official informed a news agency.

Local media also stated that the freeing of the hostages had been achieved, but did not provide specifics on whether it was achieved via dialogue or armed intervention, and no details on the fate of the other hostages.

The liberation of the students was verified to the press by a government spokesperson Sunday Dare.

Response

“We have been hoping and praying for their return, if it is true then it is positive development,” said a spokesman, speaking for the local diocese of the religious authority which runs the school.

“Nevertheless, we are without official confirmation and have not been duly notified by the government.”

Security Situation

Although abductions for money are prevalent in the nation as a way for criminals and armed groups to generate revenue, in a series of mass abductions in last month, many people were seized, casting an uncomfortable spotlight on Nigeria’s serious state of safety.

The nation is grappling with a long-running jihadist insurgency in the north-east, while marauding gangs carry out kidnappings and loot villages in the northwestern region, and disputes between farmers and herders regarding scarce farmland occur in the central belt.

Furthermore, armed groups linked to separatist movements also haunt the nation's restive south-east.

The Chibok Shadow

One of the earliest large-scale abductions that drew international attention was in 2014, when about 300 schoolgirls were taken from their school in the northeastern town of Chibok by Boko Haram jihadists.

Ten years on, Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ransom problem has “consolidated into a systematic, revenue-generating business” that collected approximately a significant sum between a recent twelve-month period, stated in a recent report by a Lagos-based consultancy.