In a heartening turn of events, nearly 300 schoolchildren who were abducted in Nigeria have been safely released, as confirmed by local authorities this past Sunday. The children had been taken from their school in Kaduna, a northwestern state, over two weeks ago and were forced into the dense forests by their captors.
Since 2014, Nigeria has witnessed the distressing trend of school kidnappings, with over 1,400 students abducted. The infamous abduction by Boko Haram militants in 2014, where hundreds of schoolgirls were taken from Chibok village in Borno state, marked the beginning of this harrowing chapter. In recent times, the northwestern and central regions of the country have seen a surge in such incidents, with armed groups targeting villagers and travelers for ransom.
Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna state, while not delving into the specifics, announced the release of the 287 students from Kuriga town on March 7, noting that many of them were under the age of 12. He expressed his gratitude towards Nigerian President Bola Tinubu for his role in ensuring the children’s safe return without harm.
President Tinubu had previously declared his commitment to securing the children’s release without succumbing to ransom demands. Despite the commonality of ransom payments in such situations, often facilitated by the victims’ families, it is a rare occurrence for Nigerian officials to acknowledge these transactions publicly.
The responsibility for the Kaduna kidnapping has yet to be claimed by any group. However, locals attribute the act to bandit groups notorious for their mass killings and kidnappings for ransom. These groups, largely composed of former herders embroiled in conflicts with settled communities, have wreaked havoc across the northern regions of Nigeria.
Experts with deep insights into Nigeria’s northwest security crisis have identified the abductors, hiding within the expansive, lawless forests of the region. Murtala Ahmed Rufa’i, a professor of peace and conflict studies, and Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, a cleric who has engaged in negotiations with the bandits, have both pointed to these forests as the bandits’ hideouts.
In the wake of these mass kidnappings, arrests are seldom made. Victims are typically released after families pay ransoms or through negotiations involving government and security officials.
Governor Sani extended his thanks to the Nigerian security forces and officials for their pivotal role in the students’ release. He shared his personal ordeal of sleepless nights spent alongside the National Security Adviser, Mal. Nuhu Ribadu, devising strategies and coordinating security operations that ultimately led to this successful resolution.