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Officials in Nigeria have ensured the liberation of a hundred abducted students seized by attackers from a religious school in November, as stated by a source within the UN and local media on Sunday. Nevertheless, the whereabouts of another 165 students and staff believed to continue being under the control of kidnappers was unclear.

Context

In November, 315 people were kidnapped from a co-educational boarding school in central a Nigerian state, as the nation faced a surge of mass abductions similar to the notorious 2014 jihadist group kidnapping of schoolgirls in Chibok.

Some 50 escaped in the immediate aftermath, leaving two hundred and sixty-five thought to be in captivity.

The Release

The one hundred youngsters are scheduled to be transferred to local government officials this Monday, as per the UN official.

“They are going to be released to the government on Monday,” the source told a news agency.

Local media also confirmed that the release of the hostages had been obtained, though they lacked details on whether it was done through talks or a security operation, nor on the whereabouts of the still-missing students and staff.

The liberation of the youngsters was confirmed to AFP by an official representative Sunday Dare.

Statements

“We have been anxiously awaiting for their safe arrival, if this is confirmed then it is a cheering event,” said a representative, spokesman for Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the Kontagora diocese which operates the institution.

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

Security Situation

Though hostage-taking for cash are prevalent in the country as a method for gangs and militants to generate revenue, in a spate of large-scale kidnappings in November, many people were taken, casting an harsh focus on the country's serious state of safety.

The country is grappling with a long-running Islamist militant uprising in the northeastern region, while criminal groups conduct abductions and raid communities in the north-west, and clashes between farmers and herders concerning scarce resources continue in the central belt.

Additionally, armed groups connected to separatist movements also haunt the country’s restive southeastern region.

Historical Precedent

One of the most prominent large-scale abductions that drew global concern was in 2014, when about three hundred female students were abducted from their school in the north-eastern town of Chibok by Boko Haram jihadists.

Now, Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ransom crisis has “become a structured, profit-seeking industry” that raised about a significant sum between July 2024 and June 2025, stated in a study by a Lagos-based research firm.