Nigeria: more than 150 kidnapped students rescued days before ransom deadline

Nigerian army has, over the past two days, successfully rescued more than 150 “unharmed” pupils and teachers who were abducted by gunmen from a school in the country’s northeast earlier this month.
The kidnapping in Kaduna state on 7 March, one of the biggest such attacks in years, has prompted a national outcry over security. The 137 individuals, including 61 males and 76 females, from LEA School Kuriga in Kaduna have been released days before a ransom 27 March deadline for a $620,000 ransom to be paid in exchange for their release, officials say. This comes after another 16 victims were rescued a day earlier in the same region. According to government spokesman Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, it “took a lot of backchannel engagement” to release the students abducted in Kuriga, the first mass kidnapping in Nigeria since 2021.
Uba Sani, governor of the northwestern state of Kaduna, said in a statement on Sunday (24 March) that the hostages were released after “security operations” coordinated by the country’s national security adviser. He also hailed the role of the Nigerian Army that “deserves special commendation for showing that with courage, determination and commitment, criminal elements can be degraded and security restored in our communities,” the governor added. Experts and observers say that this rescue operation succeeds previous efforts, which may mark a significant progress in addressing kidnapping challenges in northern Nigeria.