Officials in Nigeria have secured the release of one hundred kidnapped pupils seized by gunmen from a religious school last month, as stated by a United Nations official and Nigerian press this past Sunday. Nevertheless, the fate of a further 165 students and staff believed to remain in captivity remained uncertain.
Last month, 315 students and staff were kidnapped from St Mary’s co-educational residential school in north-central a Nigerian state, as the country was gripped by a series of large-scale kidnappings similar to the notorious 2014 Boko Haram abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok.
Approximately 50 got away soon after, leaving 265 presumed in captivity.
The one hundred youngsters are scheduled to be handed over to Niger state officials on Monday, according to the United Nations source.
“They will be released to the government on Monday,” the individual stated to AFP.
Local media also confirmed that the liberation of 100 children had been achieved, though they lacked details on if it was the result of talks or military force, and no details on the fate of the other individuals.
The liberation of the students was verified to AFP by presidential spokesman an official.
“For a long time we were praying and waiting for their return, should this be accurate then it is positive event,” said a representative, spokesman for Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the religious authority which manages the school.
“Nevertheless, we are without official confirmation and have not received proper notification by the national authorities.”
Though kidnappings for ransom are widespread in the nation as a way for gangs and militants to make quick cash, in a series of large-scale kidnappings in last month, many people were taken, putting an critical focus on the country's deteriorating security situation.
The nation confronts a years-long Islamist militant uprising in the northeastern region, while marauding gangs carry out kidnappings and raid communities in the north-west, and clashes between agricultural and pastoral communities regarding diminishing land and resources persist in the middle belt.
Furthermore, militant factions linked to secessionist agendas also haunt the country’s unsettled southeastern region.
A first mass kidnappings that attracted international attention was in 2014, when about three hundred girls were taken from their boarding school in the northeastern town of Chibok by Boko Haram jihadists.
Ten years on, Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ransom crisis has “become a structured, revenue-generating business” that generated around a significant sum between last year, according to a recent report by a Nigerian research firm.
A passionate writer and traveler sharing insights on personal growth and lifestyle from a UK perspective.
