Liberation Obtained for 100 Taken Nigerian Schoolchildren, yet A Large Number Are Still Held
Nigerian authorities have obtained the freedom of 100 abducted schoolchildren captured by gunmen from a educational institution in November, per reports from a United Nations official and regional news outlets on Sunday. However, the whereabouts of another one hundred and sixty-five individuals presumed to continue being held captive remained unknown.
Background
In November, three hundred and fifteen students and staff were abducted from a co-educational residential school in central Niger state, as the nation buckled under a wave of large-scale kidnappings reminiscent of the notorious 2014 Boko Haram kidnapping of schoolgirls in a town in north-east Nigeria.
Some 50 escaped in the immediate aftermath, leaving two hundred and sixty-five believed to be in captivity.
The Release
The 100 youngsters are set to be transferred to state authorities on Monday, according to the source.
“They are going to be handed over to the government tomorrow,” the source told a news agency.
Local media also stated that the liberation of the students had been obtained, though they lacked details on if it was done through talks or armed intervention, and no details on the whereabouts of the remaining hostages.
The liberation of the youngsters was confirmed to the press by an official representative an official.
Statements
“For a long time we were anxiously awaiting for their release, if this is confirmed then it is positive news,” said Daniel Atori, speaking for Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the Kontagora diocese which operates the institution.
“Yet, we are not officially aware and have not been duly notified by the national authorities.”
Security Situation
Though hostage-taking for cash are widespread in the country as a way for criminals and armed groups to generate revenue, in a series of large-scale kidnappings in November, scores of individuals were abducted, placing an harsh focus on the country's serious law and order crisis.
The nation confronts a protracted jihadist insurgency in the northeastern region, while criminal groups carry out abductions and plunder communities in the north-west, and conflicts between agricultural and pastoral communities over dwindling farmland occur in the country’s centre.
On a smaller scale, armed groups linked to secessionist agendas also operate in the nation's restive southeastern region.
The Chibok Shadow
A most prominent large-scale abductions that attracted global concern was in 2014, when about three hundred schoolgirls were snatched from their school in the north-eastern town of Chibok by Boko Haram jihadists.
A decade later, the country's kidnap-for-ransom crisis has “consolidated into a organized, profit-seeking business” that raised about a significant sum between July 2024 and June 2025, stated in a analysis by a Lagos-based research firm.