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Nigerian authorities have obtained the freedom of one hundred kidnapped students taken by gunmen from a religious school last month, per reports from a United Nations official and local media this past Sunday. However, the whereabouts of an additional 165 students and staff thought to continue being held captive remained uncertain.

Background

Last month, three hundred and fifteen individuals were kidnapped from a mixed residential school in central Niger state, as the nation faced a wave of group seizures similar to the infamous 2014 jihadist group kidnapping of female students in a town in north-east Nigeria.

Some 50 got away soon after, resulting in 265 thought to be still held.

The Handover

The a hundred youngsters are set to be handed over to local government officials this Monday, as per the United Nations source.

“They will be transferred to the government on Monday,” the individual told AFP.

Regional reports also stated that the liberation of 100 children had been obtained, though they lacked information on whether it was achieved via talks or armed intervention, nor on the whereabouts of the remaining individuals.

The release of the 100 children was verified to AFP by presidential spokesman an official.

Reaction

“We have been praying and waiting for their safe arrival, if it is true then it is a cheering news,” said Daniel Atori, spokesman for the local diocese of the religious authority which operates the school.

“However, we are not formally informed and have not received proper notification by the federal government.”

Broader Context

Although hostage-taking for cash are widespread in the country as a method for criminals and armed groups to make quick cash, in a series of mass abductions in November, hundreds were taken, placing an critical focus on the country's already grim security situation.

The country confronts a protracted jihadist insurgency in the north-east, while marauding gangs perpetrate abductions and plunder communities in the north-west, and disputes between agricultural and pastoral communities regarding dwindling farmland occur in the country’s centre.

Furthermore, armed groups connected to separatist movements also operate in the nation's unsettled southeastern region.

A Dark Legacy

Among the most prominent mass kidnappings that drew worldwide outrage was in 2014, when about 300 girls were taken from their boarding school in the north-eastern town of Chibok by Boko Haram jihadists.

Now, the country's kidnap-for-ransom crisis has “evolved into a organized, revenue-generating industry” that generated about $$1.66m (£1.24m) between July 2024 and June 2025, stated in a analysis by a Lagos-based research firm.