Release Obtained for 100 Abducted Nigerian Students, however Numerous Remain Held
The country's government have ensured the liberation of a hundred abducted pupils taken by armed men from a educational institution the previous month, according to a United Nations official and local media on Sunday. However, the situation of another one hundred and sixty-five individuals thought to continue being under the control of kidnappers was unknown.
The Incident
In November, 315 people were abducted from a co-educational residential school in north-central a Nigerian state, as the nation faced a wave of group seizures reminiscent of the infamous 2014 Boko Haram abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok.
Around 50 got away shortly afterward, resulting in two hundred and sixty-five thought to be in captivity.
The Handover
The 100 children are scheduled to be transferred to Niger state officials on Monday, stated by the source.
“They are scheduled to be released to the government tomorrow,” the source told AFP.
Regional reports also confirmed that the freeing of the hostages had been achieved, though they lacked information on if it was achieved via dialogue or a security operation, or about the whereabouts of the still-missing individuals.
The liberation of the youngsters was confirmed to the press by presidential spokesman Sunday Dare.
Response
“We have been praying and waiting for their return, if this is confirmed then it is a cheering news,” said a spokesman, spokesman for the local diocese of the Kontagora diocese which operates the institution.
“Nevertheless, we are not officially aware and have not been duly notified by the government.”
Broader Context
Although kidnappings for ransom are common in the country as a method for gangs and militants to generate revenue, in a wave of large-scale kidnappings in last month, many people were taken, placing an critical spotlight on Nigeria’s already grim law and order crisis.
The country faces a long-running Islamist militant uprising in the northeastern region, while criminal groups carry out kidnappings and plunder communities in the north-west, and disputes between agricultural and pastoral communities concerning scarce land and resources persist in the country’s centre.
Additionally, armed groups associated with secessionist agendas also haunt the country’s unsettled southeastern region.
A Dark Legacy
One of the first mass kidnappings that attracted international attention was in 2014, when nearly 300 schoolgirls were abducted from their school in the northeastern town of Chibok by the militant group.
Ten years on, the country's kidnap-for-ransom crisis has “consolidated into a organized, revenue-generating business” that generated approximately $$1.66m (£1.24m) between a recent twelve-month period, according to a recent report by a Lagos-based research firm.