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Nigerian authorities have ensured the liberation of 100 seized schoolchildren taken by armed men from a religious school the previous month, according to a United Nations official and Nigerian press this past Sunday. However, the situation of a further one hundred and sixty-five hostages believed to still be under the control of kidnappers was uncertain.

Background

During November, 315 individuals were abducted from St Mary’s co-educational boarding school in north-central Niger state, as the country buckled under a surge of large-scale kidnappings similar to the infamous 2014 jihadist group kidnapping of schoolgirls in Chibok.

Approximately fifty escaped in the immediate aftermath, leaving two hundred and sixty-five believed to be still held.

The Release

The a hundred youngsters are scheduled to be transferred to Niger state officials on Monday, as per the United Nations source.

“They are scheduled to be handed over to state authorities on Monday,” the official stated to a news agency.

News outlets also stated that the release of the hostages had been achieved, without offering details on whether it was the result of dialogue or a security operation, and no details on the fate of the still-missing individuals.

The freeing of the 100 children was verified to AFP by presidential spokesman Sunday Dare.

Statements

“We have been praying and waiting for their return, should this be accurate then it is wonderful news,” said a representative, representing the local diocese of the Kontagora diocese which runs the school.

“Nevertheless, we are without official confirmation and have not been duly notified by the federal government.”

Broader Context

Although hostage-taking for cash are prevalent in the nation as a method for illegal actors to make quick cash, in a series of mass abductions in last month, many people were seized, placing an critical focus on Nigeria’s already grim state of safety.

The nation is grappling with a protracted jihadist insurgency in the north-east, while criminal groups conduct kidnappings and loot communities in the northwestern region, and clashes between agricultural and pastoral communities over diminishing farmland occur in the middle belt.

Furthermore, militant factions linked to separatist movements also haunt the nation's restive south-east.

The Chibok Shadow

A earliest large-scale abductions that drew international attention was in 2014, when about 300 girls were taken from their boarding school in the northeastern town of Chibok by Boko Haram jihadists.

A decade later, the country's hostage-taking problem has “become a organized, revenue-generating industry” that raised around $$1.66m (£1.24m) between last year, stated in a recent report by a Lagos-based consultancy.