OAN’s Elizabeth Bolbelding
4:25 PM – Monday, March 25, 2024
About 300 Nigerian schoolchildren have been released, more than two weeks after they were taken from their school in Kaduna state, northwestern Nigeria.
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On Sunday, the Kaduna State Governor’s Administration announced that some 287 students abducted by gunmen from their schools this month have been released unharmed, days before the ransom payment deadline.
It is also still unclear why the children were released or if a ransom was paid.
This was the first mass kidnapping in the country since more than 150 students were abducted from a secondary school in the same area in 2021.
The first kidnapping from a school in Nigeria was carried out by the terrorist organization Boko Haram. The most well-known incident was the kidnapping of 276 students from a girls’ school in Chibok, northern Borno state, 10 years ago.
In recent years, kidnapping incidents have been concentrated in the northwestern and central regions of the country. Dozens of armed groups frequently target tourists and residents in these areas demanding ransom payments.
Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani did not provide details regarding the release of the 287 school children. However, at least 100 of the abductees are under the age of 12 and were reportedly abducted from a school in the isolated town of Kuriga on March 7.th.
In a statement, Sani thanked Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu for “particularly securing the unharmed release of the abducted school children.”
Tinubu promised to release the children “without paying a dime” as ransom. However, kidnappings are often paid for by families with ransoms, and Nigerian authorities have historically rarely approved ransom payments.
Most of the bandit groups committing mass murders and kidnappings in the war-torn northern region are believed to be former nomads at odds with settled towns. Moreover, no group has officially acknowledged kidnapping in Kaduna.
of Associated Press At least two insiders familiar with the security situation in northwestern Nigeria have informed us that the identity of the kidnappers is known, but they insist it has not been reported for reasons unknown to them.
The bandits are hiding in the area’s vast unmanaged forests, said Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, a cleric who negotiated with the bandits, and Murtala Ahmed Rufai, a professor of peace and conflict studies at Usmanu Danfodiyo University. It is said that there are.
In Nigeria, where kidnappings are common, arrests are usually rare as victims are usually released only after relatives pay a ransom or make arrangements with government or security officials.
The Kaduna governor expressed gratitude to the Nigerian authorities and security forces for the release of the students.
“I spent sleepless nights with National Security Adviser Mar. Nuhu Ribadu… fine-tuning the strategy and coordinating the operations of the security agencies, which ultimately led to this success. ” said the Kaduna Governor.
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