This archive report was first published on 28 August 2021.
Published on August 28, 2021, Nigerian gunmen have freed scores of students abducted from schools in the northwest this year, following a series of sudden releases.
The mass abductions were part of a string of kidnapping for ransom attacks on Nigerian schools and colleges this year by heavily armed gangs known locally as bandits.
On Friday, nearly 100 pupils abducted from an Islamic seminary in Tegina, Niger State were reunited with their families after three months in captivity.
Additionally, 32 students kidnapped in July from a Baptist school in northwest Kaduna state were also released, according to Reverend Joseph Hayab, a representative for the families.
"The bandits released 32 more of the students today, Friday. We still have 31 in captivity and we have hope they will be released soon," Reverend Hayab told AFP.
While the families had to pay ransom to secure the release of the students, the exact amount was not disclosed.
Another 18 students and staff from an agriculture college in Zamfara State were also freed earlier this month, state police said.
The surge in violence in Nigeria's northwest and central states has been attributed to years-long tensions and tit-for-tat raids between farmers and nomadic herders over grazing land and water resources.
However, the situation has worsened since criminal gangs emerged, with most of them based in vast forests across Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, and Zamfara states.
