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Nigerian authorities have obtained the freedom of one hundred abducted schoolchildren taken by armed men from a educational institution last month, according to a United Nations official and local media this past Sunday. Yet, the whereabouts of an additional one hundred and sixty-five students and staff thought to remain in captivity remained uncertain.

Background

During November, 315 students and staff were kidnapped from St Mary’s mixed boarding school in central a Nigerian state, as the nation faced a wave of mass abductions reminiscent of the well-known 2014 jihadist group abduction of schoolgirls in a town in north-east Nigeria.

Some 50 managed to flee shortly afterward, resulting in 265 presumed still held.

Freedom for Some

The one hundred students are scheduled to be released to Niger state officials this Monday, stated by the United Nations source.

“They are going to be transferred to state authorities tomorrow,” the official stated to a news agency.

News outlets also reported that the freeing of 100 children had been obtained, though they lacked information on if it was the result of talks or a security operation, nor on the whereabouts of the other students and staff.

The release of the students was announced to the press by a government spokesperson an official.

Statements

“We've been praying and waiting for their safe arrival, should this be accurate then it is a cheering development,” said Daniel Atori, speaking for Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the religious authority which manages the school.

“Yet, we are without official confirmation and have lacked official communication by the government.”

Broader Context

Although hostage-taking for cash are prevalent in the country as a method for illegal actors to make quick cash, in a spate of mass abductions in last month, hundreds were taken, placing an critical focus on the country's already grim security situation.

The country faces a long-running Islamist militant uprising in the northeastern region, while criminal groups perpetrate abductions and raid villages in the north-west, and disputes between farmers and herders concerning dwindling resources continue in the central belt.

On a smaller scale, armed groups linked to separatist movements also are active in the nation's unsettled south-east.

A Dark Legacy

One of the first large-scale abductions that drew international attention was in 2014, when almost three hundred female students were taken from their school in the north-eastern town of Chibok by insurgents.

Now, the country's kidnap-for-ransom issue has “evolved into a systematic, revenue-generating industry” that collected about a significant sum between a recent twelve-month period, as per a analysis by a Nigerian consultancy.