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Officials in Nigeria have obtained the freedom of a hundred abducted schoolchildren taken by armed men from a Catholic school the previous month, per reports from a source within the UN and local media this past Sunday. Nevertheless, the situation of an additional 165 individuals thought to remain in captivity was unclear.

The Incident

During November, 315 students and staff were abducted from St Mary’s co-educational residential school in north-central Niger state, as the nation faced a wave of large-scale kidnappings reminiscent of the infamous 2014 Boko Haram abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok.

Some 50 escaped in the immediate aftermath, leaving 265 thought to be under kidnappers' control.

The Release

The a hundred students are due to be transferred to Niger state officials on Monday, stated by the source.

“They are going to be handed over to Niger state government on Monday,” the official informed AFP.

Regional reports also stated that the release of the hostages had been obtained, but did not provide specifics on whether it was achieved via talks or armed intervention, or about the situation of the other hostages.

The freeing of the students was confirmed to AFP by a government spokesperson an official.

Response

“We have been anxiously awaiting for their safe arrival, if this is confirmed then it is a cheering development,” said a spokesman, representing Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the religious authority which runs the institution.

“Yet, we are not officially aware and have not received proper notification by the national authorities.”

Wider Crisis

While abductions for money are widespread in the country as a way for illegal actors to fund their activities, in a spate of large-scale kidnappings in last month, many people were seized, placing an uncomfortable focus on the country's serious state of safety.

The nation confronts a years-long Islamist militant uprising in the northeastern region, while criminal groups conduct kidnappings and loot villages in the north-west, and conflicts between agricultural and pastoral communities concerning scarce resources occur in the middle belt.

On a smaller scale, armed groups connected to secessionist agendas also haunt the country’s volatile southeastern region.

Historical Precedent

Among the earliest mass kidnappings that attracted worldwide outrage was in 2014, when nearly three hundred schoolgirls were taken from their school in the northeastern town of Chibok by insurgents.

Now, the country's hostage-taking problem has “evolved into a organized, profit-seeking industry” that generated around $1.66 million dollars (£1.24m) between last year, according to a recent report by a Nigerian consultancy.