Freedom Secured for One Hundred Taken Nigerian Pupils, however Many Remain in Captivity

The country's government have ensured the liberation of one hundred seized pupils captured by gunmen from a Catholic school the previous month, per reports from a United Nations official and regional news outlets on Sunday. Yet, the whereabouts of a further one hundred and sixty-five hostages thought to still be in captivity was unclear.

Background

In November, 315 students and staff were taken from St Mary’s co-educational boarding school in north-central Niger state, as the nation buckled under a surge of large-scale kidnappings echoing the notorious 2014 Boko Haram abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok.

Some 50 escaped soon after, resulting in two hundred and sixty-five believed to be still held.

The Release

The 100 youngsters are scheduled to be transferred to state authorities this Monday, as per the source.

“They will be released to state authorities tomorrow,” the official told a news agency.

News outlets also stated that the release of the hostages had been achieved, without offering information on whether it was achieved via dialogue or armed intervention, and no details on the situation of the other hostages.

The release of the 100 children was announced to AFP 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 representative, representing Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the Kontagora diocese which runs the institution.

“Nevertheless, we are without official confirmation and have lacked official communication by the national authorities.”

Wider Crisis

Although hostage-taking for cash are common in the country as a means for gangs and militants to fund their activities, in a spate of mass abductions in November, scores of individuals were abducted, placing an critical attention on the country's deteriorating law and order crisis.

The nation faces a protracted jihadist insurgency in the northeastern region, while armed bandit gangs perpetrate abductions and raid villages in the north-west, and clashes between agricultural and pastoral communities concerning dwindling farmland occur in the central belt.

On a smaller scale, armed groups connected to secessionist agendas also are active in the nation's volatile south-east.

A Dark Legacy

One of the earliest mass kidnappings that garnered international attention was in 2014, when almost 300 girls were taken from their school in the northeastern town of Chibok by Boko Haram jihadists.

A decade later, Nigeria’s hostage-taking problem has “become a systematic, profit-seeking business” that raised about a significant sum between a recent twelve-month period, as per a analysis by a Lagos-based consultancy.