🔗 Share this article Liberation Achieved for One Hundred Kidnapped Nigerian Schoolchildren, but Many Are Still in Captivity The country's government have ensured the liberation of 100 seized students taken by gunmen from a Catholic school in November, as stated by a UN source and regional news outlets on Sunday. Yet, the whereabouts of an additional 165 students and staff presumed to still be held captive was unknown. Context In November, three hundred and fifteen individuals were taken from a mixed boarding school in central Niger state, as the country buckled under a series of large-scale kidnappings echoing the infamous 2014 jihadist group abduction of female students in a town in north-east Nigeria. Some 50 got away shortly afterward, leaving two hundred and sixty-five presumed under kidnappers' control. The Handover The one hundred children are set to be released to local government officials on Monday, as per the source. “They are going to be transferred to Niger state government tomorrow,” the source told AFP. Local media also confirmed that the liberation of 100 children had been secured, though they lacked details on whether it was done through talks or military force, or about the whereabouts of the other hostages. The release of the students was verified to AFP by a government spokesperson an official. Statements “For a long time we were anxiously awaiting for their return, if it is true then it is a cheering development,” said a representative, spokesman for Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the religious authority which operates the institution. “Yet, we are without official confirmation and have lacked official communication by the federal government.” Broader Context Although abductions for money are prevalent in the nation as a means for illegal actors to make quick cash, in a series of mass abductions in last month, scores of individuals were seized, placing an harsh focus on Nigeria’s deteriorating state of safety. The country confronts a long-running jihadist insurgency in the north-east, while armed bandit gangs perpetrate abductions and raid communities in the northwestern region, and disputes between farmers and herders over dwindling resources continue in the middle belt. Additionally, militant factions connected to secessionist agendas also haunt the nation's volatile southeastern region. The Chibok Shadow Among the first mass kidnappings that drew international attention was in 2014, when about three hundred female students were snatched from their boarding school in the northeastern town of Chibok by insurgents. A decade later, the country's hostage-taking crisis has “evolved into a structured, profit-seeking business” that generated around $1.66 million dollars (£1.24m) between last year, according to a recent report by a Nigerian consultancy.