Liberation Achieved for 100 Taken Nigerian Students, but Many Are Still in Captivity

The country's government have obtained the freedom of a hundred abducted students seized by gunmen from a Catholic school in November, as stated by a source within the UN and Nigerian press on Sunday. However, the situation of another 165 students and staff thought to still be under the control of kidnappers remained uncertain.

Context

In November, 315 people were abducted from St Mary’s mixed boarding school in north-central Niger state, as the country was gripped by a series of large-scale kidnappings reminiscent of the infamous 2014 Boko Haram kidnapping of schoolgirls in a town in north-east Nigeria.

Approximately fifty got away in the immediate aftermath, which left 265 thought to be still held.

The Handover

The a hundred children are due to be released to state authorities on Monday, as per the United Nations source.

“They are scheduled to be handed over to state authorities on Monday,” the individual informed AFP.

Local media also reported that the freeing of the hostages had been achieved, without offering details on whether it was done through talks or armed intervention, or about the fate of the other students and staff.

The release of the 100 children was confirmed to AFP by presidential spokesman an official.

Response

“We have been anxiously awaiting for their return, should this be accurate then it is a cheering development,” said a spokesman, representing Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the Kontagora diocese which manages the school.

“However, we are not formally informed and have lacked official communication by the national authorities.”

Security Situation

While abductions for money are prevalent in the nation as a method for illegal actors to generate revenue, in a series of large-scale kidnappings in November, scores of individuals were taken, placing an uncomfortable focus on Nigeria’s already grim law and order crisis.

The nation faces a years-long jihadist insurgency in the northeastern region, while criminal groups perpetrate abductions and raid communities in the northwestern region, and clashes between agricultural and pastoral communities regarding dwindling resources persist in the middle belt.

On a smaller scale, armed groups connected to secessionist agendas also haunt the country’s unsettled south-east.

Historical Precedent

One of the earliest mass kidnappings that garnered global concern was in 2014, when nearly 300 schoolgirls were taken from their boarding school in the north-eastern town of Chibok by the militant group.

Ten years on, Nigeria’s hostage-taking issue has “evolved into a structured, revenue-generating enterprise” that collected around $$1.66m (£1.24m) between last year, as per a study by a Nigerian consultancy.