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Nigerian authorities have ensured the liberation of one hundred kidnapped pupils captured by armed men from a educational institution last month, according to a source within the UN and Nigerian press this past Sunday. However, the situation of an additional one hundred and sixty-five students and staff thought to remain held captive remained uncertain.

Background

In November, 315 people were kidnapped from St Mary’s mixed boarding school in north-central a Nigerian state, as the nation was gripped by a wave of group seizures echoing the infamous 2014 Boko Haram abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok.

Approximately 50 managed to flee shortly afterward, resulting in two hundred and sixty-five presumed still held.

Freedom for Some

The 100 students are set to be transferred to Niger state officials this Monday, according to the UN official.

“They are scheduled to be handed over to state authorities on Monday,” the official told a news agency.

Local media also stated that the freeing of the students had been obtained, but did not provide specifics on whether it was achieved via negotiation or armed intervention, or about the fate of the still-missing students and staff.

The freeing of the students was confirmed to AFP by an official representative an official.

Statements

“For a long time we were anxiously awaiting for their safe arrival, if this is confirmed then it is positive development,” said a spokesman, representing Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the Kontagora diocese which runs the school.

“However, we are without official confirmation and have not been duly notified by the federal government.”

Security Situation

While abductions for money are prevalent in the country as a way for criminals and armed groups to make quick cash, in a wave of large-scale kidnappings in last month, scores of individuals were seized, placing an uncomfortable focus on the country's already grim state of safety.

The country confronts a long-running Islamist militant uprising in the northeastern region, while marauding gangs conduct kidnappings and raid communities in the northwestern region, and conflicts between farmers and herders concerning diminishing land and resources continue in the middle belt.

Furthermore, armed groups linked to secessionist agendas also are active in the nation's volatile southeastern region.

The Chibok Shadow

A earliest mass kidnappings that attracted global concern was in 2014, when almost 300 schoolgirls were abducted from their boarding school in the northeastern town of Chibok by the militant group.

Ten years on, Nigeria’s hostage-taking issue has “become a organized, revenue-generating enterprise” that raised around $1.66 million dollars (£1.24m) between last year, stated in a analysis by a Nigerian consultancy.