🔗 Share this article Liberation Achieved for 100 Abducted Nigerian Pupils, but A Large Number Remain in Captivity Nigerian authorities have ensured the liberation of 100 abducted schoolchildren taken by armed men from a educational institution last month, according to a United Nations official and Nigerian press on Sunday. However, the fate of another one hundred and sixty-five hostages presumed to continue being under the control of kidnappers was unknown. Context During November, 315 students and staff were abducted from St Mary’s mixed residential school in north-central a Nigerian state, as the country faced a surge of mass abductions similar to the notorious 2014 jihadist group abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok. Around fifty managed to flee soon after, which left two hundred and sixty-five believed to be still held. The Release The a hundred youngsters are scheduled to be transferred to state authorities on Monday, according to the UN official. “They will be released to state authorities on Monday,” the official informed AFP. News outlets also reported that the liberation of the hostages had been achieved, but did not provide information on if it was achieved via talks or armed intervention, nor on the fate of the other hostages. The release of the 100 children was confirmed to the press by an official representative an official. Reaction “We have been hoping and praying for their return, if it is true then it is a cheering news,” said Daniel Atori, spokesman for Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the religious authority which operates the school. “However, we are not officially aware and have lacked official communication by the national authorities.” Wider Crisis Though hostage-taking for cash are prevalent in the country as a method for gangs and militants to make quick cash, in a spate of mass abductions in last month, hundreds were abducted, casting an uncomfortable spotlight on Nigeria’s serious state of safety. The country confronts a years-long Islamist militant uprising in the northeastern region, while marauding gangs perpetrate abductions and raid communities in the northwestern region, and disputes between agricultural and pastoral communities regarding scarce resources occur in the middle belt. On a smaller scale, armed groups associated with secessionist agendas also haunt the nation's unsettled south-east. Historical Precedent Among the most prominent mass kidnappings that attracted international attention was in 2014, when almost 300 schoolgirls were abducted from their boarding school in the north-eastern town of Chibok by Boko Haram jihadists. A decade later, the country's kidnap-for-ransom crisis has “consolidated into a organized, revenue-generating enterprise” that raised around $$1.66m (£1.24m) between last year, as per a study by a Lagos-based consultancy.