Nigeria: Abducted Students Freed From Captivity

A military operation has overseen the rescue of 137 Nigerian students – 76 female and 61 male – on Sunday, 24 March, days before a ransom deadline.

“In the early hours of 24 March 2024, the military working with local authorities and government agencies across the country in a coordinated search and rescue operation rescued the hostages,” Major General Edward Buba said in a statement released to the media on the same day.

The students were kidnapped on Thursday, 7 March, when it was revealed that over 280 children had been taken from the northwestern town of Kuriga. According to reports, the kidnappers had demanded $690 000 in ransom but an agreement may have been reached following negotiations between the government and the perpetrators.

Buba claims that “all” of the hostages have been rescued and that earlier numbers were wrong, but he did not give further details. One non-governmental organisation suggested that the discrepancy was due to authorities not conducting a proper audit at the time of the kidnappings.

Given the discrepancies, it’s currently unclear whether any of the students or teachers remain captured.

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