🔗 Share this article Liberation Obtained for A Hundred Taken Nigerian Schoolchildren, yet A Large Number Continue to Be Captive The country's government have ensured the liberation of a hundred abducted students taken by attackers from a religious school in November, per reports from a source within the UN and regional news outlets this past Sunday. Yet, the whereabouts of another 165 students and staff believed to still be under the control of kidnappers was uncertain. The Incident Last month, 315 students and staff were taken from St Mary’s mixed boarding school in central a Nigerian state, as the country buckled under a series of group seizures echoing the notorious 2014 jihadist group abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok. Around fifty managed to flee in the immediate aftermath, which left 265 believed to be under kidnappers' control. The Release The a hundred youngsters are due to be transferred to Niger state officials on Monday, according to the UN official. “They will be released to state authorities tomorrow,” the source told a news agency. News outlets also stated that the liberation of 100 children had been obtained, though they lacked specifics on whether it was the result of negotiation or military force, or about the situation of the still-missing individuals. The freeing of the 100 children was confirmed to the press by an official representative an official. Statements “For a long time we were praying and waiting for their release, if this is confirmed then it is wonderful development,” said Daniel Atori, representing the local diocese of the religious authority which runs the school. “Nevertheless, we are without official confirmation and have not received proper notification by the federal government.” Wider Crisis While abductions for money are common in the country as a means for illegal actors to fund their activities, in a spate of large-scale kidnappings in last month, hundreds were taken, casting an harsh attention on Nigeria’s deteriorating state of safety. The nation is grappling with a protracted jihadist insurgency in the northeastern region, while armed bandit gangs conduct kidnappings and plunder communities in the north-west, and conflicts between agricultural and pastoral communities over diminishing land and resources continue in the central belt. On a smaller scale, armed groups connected to secessionist agendas also operate in the country’s volatile southeastern region. A Dark Legacy One of the most prominent large-scale abductions that garnered international attention was in 2014, when almost 300 girls were taken from their school in the north-eastern town of Chibok by the militant group. Ten years on, the country's kidnap-for-ransom issue has “become a systematic, profit-seeking enterprise” that generated about a significant sum between last year, stated in a analysis by a Nigerian research firm.