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The country's government have secured the release of a hundred seized students seized by armed men from a educational institution last month, as stated by a source within the UN and local media this past Sunday. However, the whereabouts of a further 165 students and staff believed to continue being held captive stayed unclear.

The Incident

In November, 315 individuals were abducted from St Mary’s co-educational residential school in central Niger state, as the country faced a series of large-scale kidnappings reminiscent of the infamous 2014 Boko Haram kidnapping of schoolgirls in Chibok.

Some 50 escaped in the immediate aftermath, which left two hundred and sixty-five thought to be under kidnappers' control.

The Release

The one hundred youngsters are set to be handed over to Niger state officials on Monday, according to the United Nations source.

“They are scheduled to be handed over to state authorities tomorrow,” the individual stated to a news agency.

Regional reports also stated that the release of the students had been secured, but did not provide details on whether it was achieved via dialogue or military force, nor on the fate of the still-missing hostages.

The freeing of the youngsters was announced to AFP by a government spokesperson Sunday Dare.

Reaction

“For a long time we were hoping and praying for their release, should this be accurate then it is a cheering event,” said a representative, representing the local diocese of the Kontagora diocese which operates the institution.

“However, we are not formally informed and have lacked official communication by the federal government.”

Broader Context

Although hostage-taking for cash are prevalent in the country as a means for gangs and militants to make quick cash, in a series of large-scale kidnappings in November, many people were taken, placing an uncomfortable spotlight on the country's serious law and order crisis.

The nation is grappling with a long-running Islamist militant uprising in the north-east, while marauding gangs carry out kidnappings and plunder communities in the north-west, and clashes between farmers and herders concerning dwindling resources continue in the country’s centre.

Additionally, militant factions associated with separatist movements also are active in the country’s volatile south-east.

Historical Precedent

Among the earliest large-scale abductions that garnered international attention was in 2014, when about three hundred girls were taken from their boarding school in the north-eastern town of Chibok by the militant group.

Ten years on, the country's kidnap-for-ransom issue has “consolidated into a structured, profit-seeking industry” that collected about a significant sum between last year, as per a analysis by a Nigerian research firm.