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Nigerian authorities have ensured the liberation of 100 kidnapped pupils taken by attackers from a Catholic school in November, according to a UN source and local media on Sunday. However, the whereabouts of an additional one hundred and sixty-five hostages thought to still be in captivity was unknown.

Background

During November, 315 people were abducted from a mixed boarding school in central Niger state, as the country buckled under a series of mass abductions reminiscent of the infamous 2014 Boko Haram kidnapping of schoolgirls in a town in north-east Nigeria.

Approximately 50 got away in the immediate aftermath, leaving 265 presumed under kidnappers' control.

Freedom for Some

The 100 children are due to be transferred to state authorities this Monday, as per the source.

“They will be transferred to Niger state government tomorrow,” the official told AFP.

News outlets also confirmed that the freeing of the hostages had been achieved, but did not provide specifics on whether it was achieved via dialogue or armed intervention, or about the whereabouts of the still-missing individuals.

The liberation of the students was verified to AFP by a government spokesperson Sunday Dare.

Response

“We have been hoping and praying for their return, if it is true then it is wonderful news,” said Daniel Atori, representing Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the religious authority which runs the school.

“Nevertheless, we are not officially aware and have not received proper notification by the government.”

Wider Crisis

While kidnappings for ransom are widespread in the nation as a way for gangs and militants to generate revenue, in a spate of large-scale kidnappings in November, scores of individuals were taken, putting an harsh attention on Nigeria’s serious law and order crisis.

The nation confronts a long-running Islamist militant uprising in the northeastern region, while marauding gangs carry out kidnappings and plunder villages in the north-west, and clashes between farmers and herders over scarce farmland continue in the central belt.

Additionally, militant factions linked to secessionist agendas also operate in the nation's restive south-east.

A Dark Legacy

One of the first mass kidnappings that garnered international attention was in 2014, when almost three hundred girls were snatched from their school in the northeastern town of Chibok by Boko Haram jihadists.

Ten years on, the country's kidnap-for-ransom crisis has “become a organized, profit-seeking industry” that raised about a significant sum between a recent twelve-month period, as per a study by a Nigerian consultancy.