🔗 Share this article Release Obtained for A Hundred Abducted Nigerian Students, however A Large Number Remain Captive The country's government have ensured the liberation of one hundred kidnapped schoolchildren taken by armed men from a religious school in November, per reports from a UN source and regional news outlets this past Sunday. Yet, the fate of another one hundred and sixty-five students and staff presumed to remain in captivity stayed uncertain. Background Last month, 315 individuals were taken from a mixed residential school in central a Nigerian state, as the nation faced a surge of large-scale kidnappings echoing the notorious 2014 Boko Haram kidnapping of female students in a town in north-east Nigeria. Around 50 managed to flee in the immediate aftermath, resulting in 265 believed to be in captivity. The Release The 100 youngsters are due to be handed over to local government officials on Monday, according to the United Nations source. “They are going to be handed over to state authorities tomorrow,” the official told AFP. Local media also stated that the freeing of the students had been achieved, but did not provide specifics on whether it was done through talks or military force, nor on the whereabouts of the other hostages. The release of the 100 children was confirmed to the press by presidential spokesman an official. Statements “We've been hoping and praying for their return, if it is true then it is positive event,” said Daniel Atori, spokesman for Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the religious authority which operates the school. “Yet, we are not officially aware and have not received proper notification by the national authorities.” Wider Crisis Although abductions for money are widespread in the country as a method for illegal actors to make quick cash, in a series of mass abductions in last month, hundreds were abducted, putting an uncomfortable focus on Nigeria’s already grim security situation. The nation is grappling with a long-running jihadist insurgency in the north-east, while armed bandit gangs conduct kidnappings and plunder villages in the north-west, and conflicts between agricultural and pastoral communities concerning scarce land and resources persist in the middle belt. Furthermore, militant factions connected to secessionist agendas also operate in the nation's volatile south-east. Historical Precedent One of the first mass kidnappings that attracted international attention was in 2014, when nearly three hundred girls were abducted from their boarding school in the north-eastern town of Chibok by Boko Haram jihadists. A decade later, Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ransom crisis has “evolved into a systematic, revenue-generating business” that collected about a significant sum between July 2024 and June 2025, according to a recent report by a Lagos-based research firm.