🔗 Share this article

Officials in Nigeria have obtained the freedom of 100 seized pupils taken by attackers from a Catholic school the previous month, as stated by a UN source and regional news outlets this past Sunday. However, the whereabouts of another 165 individuals presumed to still be in captivity remained uncertain.

The Incident

During November, three hundred and fifteen students and staff were abducted from a mixed residential school in north-central a Nigerian state, as the nation faced a wave of mass abductions echoing the infamous 2014 Boko Haram abduction of female students in a town in north-east Nigeria.

Approximately 50 got away soon after, resulting in two hundred and sixty-five thought to be in captivity.

The Handover

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

“They are scheduled to be released to state authorities on Monday,” the official stated to a news agency.

Local media also stated that the release of the students had been obtained, though they lacked details on if it was achieved via negotiation or military force, nor on the fate of the other hostages.

The liberation of the youngsters was verified to AFP by presidential spokesman Sunday Dare.

Reaction

“We've been praying and waiting for their release, should this be accurate then it is positive development,” said a spokesman, spokesman for Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the religious authority which operates the school.

“Nevertheless, we are without official confirmation and have not been duly notified by the national authorities.”

Wider Crisis

Although abductions for money are common in the nation as a means for illegal actors to make quick cash, in a spate of large-scale kidnappings in November, hundreds were taken, casting an critical focus on Nigeria’s serious law and order crisis.

The nation is grappling with a protracted jihadist insurgency in the northeastern region, while marauding gangs carry out abductions and raid communities in the north-west, and disputes between farmers and herders over dwindling resources occur in the country’s centre.

On a smaller scale, militant factions linked to separatist movements also operate in the country’s volatile south-east.

Historical Precedent

One of the earliest large-scale abductions that drew global concern was in 2014, when nearly 300 girls were taken from their school in the northeastern town of Chibok by the militant group.

A decade later, the country's hostage-taking crisis has “evolved into a systematic, profit-seeking industry” that raised about $1.66 million dollars (£1.24m) between July 2024 and June 2025, according to a study by a Lagos-based research firm.