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Nigerian authorities have secured the release of a hundred abducted schoolchildren taken by armed men from a educational institution last month, according to a United Nations official and local media this past Sunday. However, the situation of another one hundred and sixty-five individuals believed to still be in captivity was unknown.

The Incident

During November, three hundred and fifteen people were kidnapped from a mixed boarding school in north-central Niger state, as the country faced a surge of large-scale kidnappings echoing the well-known 2014 Boko Haram abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok.

Some fifty got away shortly afterward, resulting in 265 thought to be still held.

Freedom for Some

The a hundred children are scheduled to be released to local government officials on Monday, according to the UN official.

“They are scheduled to be handed over to the government on Monday,” the individual stated to AFP.

News outlets also reported that the liberation of the hostages had been obtained, but did not provide specifics on if it was done through dialogue or a security operation, or about the situation of the remaining hostages.

The release of the 100 children was confirmed to the press by a government spokesperson Sunday Dare.

Statements

“We've been praying and waiting for their safe arrival, if this is confirmed then it is a cheering event,” said Daniel Atori, spokesman for Bishop Bulus Yohanna of the religious authority which manages the institution.

“However, we are not formally informed and have not received proper notification by the government.”

Security Situation

Though kidnappings for ransom are common in the nation as a way for criminals and armed groups to generate revenue, in a series of mass abductions in November, hundreds were seized, casting an harsh spotlight on Nigeria’s already grim security situation.

The country is grappling with a protracted jihadist insurgency in the northeastern region, while marauding gangs perpetrate kidnappings and loot villages in the north-west, and conflicts between farmers and herders over scarce resources persist in the middle belt.

On a smaller scale, armed groups connected to separatist movements also haunt the nation's unsettled south-east.

Historical Precedent

A first large-scale abductions that drew global concern was in 2014, when nearly three hundred schoolgirls were abducted from their school in the north-eastern town of Chibok by Boko Haram jihadists.

Now, the country's hostage-taking issue has “consolidated into a structured, profit-seeking enterprise” that collected around a significant sum between a recent twelve-month period, according to a recent report by a Nigerian consultancy.