Liberation Secured for A Hundred Taken Nigerian Schoolchildren, however Many Continue to Be Held
Officials in Nigeria have obtained the freedom of 100 abducted pupils seized by attackers from a educational institution the previous month, as stated by a source within the UN and Nigerian press this past Sunday. Nevertheless, the fate of another 165 hostages believed to continue being held captive stayed uncertain.
The Incident
In November, 315 people were kidnapped from St Mary’s mixed boarding school in central Niger state, as the country was gripped by a series of large-scale kidnappings similar to the well-known 2014 jihadist group kidnapping of schoolgirls in Chibok.
Approximately fifty got away in the immediate aftermath, resulting in two hundred and sixty-five believed to be still held.
The Handover
The 100 students are due to be transferred to Niger state officials on Monday, as per the United Nations source.
“They are scheduled to be released to the government tomorrow,” the individual informed a news agency.
Local media also confirmed that the release of the students had been obtained, but did not provide specifics on if it was the result of negotiation or armed intervention, or about the fate of the still-missing individuals.
The freeing of the youngsters was verified to AFP by presidential spokesman Sunday Dare.
Reaction
“We have been praying and waiting for their return, if it is true then it is wonderful event,” said Daniel Atori, representing the local diocese of the Kontagora diocese which operates the school.
“Nevertheless, we are not formally informed and have lacked official communication by the government.”
Security Situation
While abductions for money are widespread in the country as a means for illegal actors to make quick cash, in a spate of large-scale kidnappings in November, many people were taken, putting an harsh focus on Nigeria’s serious security situation.
The nation confronts a long-running jihadist insurgency in the northeastern region, while criminal groups carry out kidnappings and loot villages in the northwestern region, and disputes between agricultural and pastoral communities over scarce farmland occur in the country’s centre.
Furthermore, militant factions associated with separatist movements also are active in the country’s unsettled south-east.
The Chibok Shadow
One of the first large-scale abductions that garnered worldwide outrage was in 2014, when nearly 300 schoolgirls were snatched from their school in the northeastern town of Chibok by insurgents.
Ten years on, Nigeria’s hostage-taking issue has “become a organized, revenue-generating enterprise” that collected around a significant sum between last year, as per a analysis by a Lagos-based research firm.
