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Nigerian authorities have ensured the liberation of a hundred kidnapped schoolchildren captured by attackers from a Catholic school in November, as stated by a source within the UN and regional news outlets this past Sunday. Yet, the whereabouts of an additional one hundred and sixty-five hostages believed to continue being under the control of kidnappers stayed unknown.

Context

In November, 315 students and staff were abducted from a co-educational residential school in north-central Niger state, as the country buckled under a wave of large-scale kidnappings similar to the notorious 2014 jihadist group kidnapping of schoolgirls in a town in north-east Nigeria.

Approximately fifty managed to flee soon after, which left 265 believed to be under kidnappers' control.

The Release

The 100 students are scheduled to be transferred to state authorities this Monday, stated by the UN official.

“They will be transferred to Niger state government tomorrow,” the individual informed AFP.

Regional reports also confirmed that the freeing of 100 children had been secured, though they lacked information on whether it was achieved via negotiation or a security operation, nor on the situation of the still-missing hostages.

The liberation of the 100 children was announced to AFP by presidential spokesman Sunday Dare.

Response

“We have been praying and waiting for their release, should this be accurate then it is wonderful development,” said Daniel Atori, representing Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the Kontagora diocese which operates the school.

“However, we are not formally informed and have lacked official communication by the federal government.”

Broader Context

Though kidnappings for ransom are common in the nation as a method for criminals and armed groups to make quick cash, in a series of mass abductions in last month, many people were abducted, casting an uncomfortable attention on the country's already grim security situation.

The country faces a long-running jihadist insurgency in the northeastern region, while marauding gangs conduct kidnappings and plunder villages in the northwestern region, and conflicts between farmers and herders concerning diminishing land and resources persist in the central belt.

On a smaller scale, armed groups linked to secessionist agendas also are active in the nation's unsettled southeastern region.

A Dark Legacy

One of the earliest mass kidnappings that drew global concern was in 2014, when about 300 female students were snatched from their school in the north-eastern town of Chibok by insurgents.

Ten years on, the country's kidnap-for-ransom problem has “become a structured, profit-seeking industry” that raised about $$1.66m (£1.24m) between a recent twelve-month period, according to a study by a Lagos-based research firm.