Liberation Achieved for 100 Taken Nigerian Schoolchildren, however Numerous Are Still in Captivity
The country's government have obtained the freedom of a hundred seized pupils seized by attackers from a educational institution in November, as stated by a United Nations official and local media this past Sunday. Nevertheless, the situation of another one hundred and sixty-five hostages presumed to continue being held captive was unknown.
The Incident
In November, 315 people were abducted from St Mary’s mixed boarding school in north-central Niger state, as the nation buckled under a surge of mass abductions echoing the well-known 2014 jihadist group kidnapping of schoolgirls in a town in north-east Nigeria.
Approximately 50 managed to flee shortly afterward, resulting in two hundred and sixty-five thought to be in captivity.
The Release
The one hundred students are due to be handed over to Niger state officials this Monday, as per the source.
“They are going to be handed over to Niger state government tomorrow,” the source stated to AFP.
Local media also stated that the liberation of 100 children had been secured, but did not provide details on if it was the result of dialogue or armed intervention, or about the whereabouts of the remaining individuals.
The liberation of the 100 children was confirmed to the press by an official representative Sunday Dare.
Statements
“We've been praying and waiting for their return, should this be accurate then it is a cheering event,” said a representative, spokesman for the local diocese of the Kontagora diocese which operates the institution.
“Yet, we are without official confirmation and have not been duly notified by the national authorities.”
Broader Context
Although kidnappings for ransom are prevalent in the country as a means for gangs and militants to make quick cash, in a series of mass abductions in last month, hundreds were abducted, placing an uncomfortable focus on the country's already grim state of safety.
The country faces a long-running jihadist insurgency in the northeastern region, while armed bandit gangs perpetrate kidnappings and raid villages in the northwestern region, and conflicts between farmers and herders over diminishing land and resources continue in the country’s centre.
Furthermore, armed groups connected to secessionist agendas also operate in the nation's unsettled south-east.
The Chibok Shadow
Among the first mass kidnappings that attracted worldwide outrage was in 2014, when nearly three hundred female students were snatched from their boarding school in the north-eastern town of Chibok by insurgents.
Ten years on, Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ransom crisis has “become a systematic, revenue-generating industry” that generated around $$1.66m (£1.24m) between July 2024 and June 2025, as per a study by a Nigerian consultancy.