Nigeria frees 137 kidnapped school girls, 1 staff member dead

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
26 Mar 2024 10:11

After being kidnapped from their school, the Nigerian government freed 137 schoolchildren and staff, and announced that one staff member had died while in captivity.

Freed students of the LEA Primary and Secondary School Kuriga, upon arrival at the government house in Kaduna, Nigeria, Monday, March 25, 2024. (AP)

After they were liberated by the Nigerian army a day earlier, over 100 Nigerian school children and staff members arrived on Monday at the local government building north of the country.

"There are here 131 students, six others are currently being hospitalized and will be eventually discharged when they get better," said Major General MLD Saraso of the Nigerian army.

Saraso further explained that among the 138 individuals initially kidnapped, a member of the school staff had died in captivity.

His Excellency, the Governor of Kaduna, Senator @UbaSaniUs received the recently released Kuriga children in Kaduna State Government House, (Sir Kashim Ibrahim House), Kaduna. His Excellency assured that they will continue to undergo psychosocial counseling and proper medical… pic.twitter.com/Gdahlfb77x
— Hon. Mohammed Bello El-Rufai (@B_ELRUFAI) March 25, 2024

Earlier, on Sunday, the army declared the rescue of 137 hostages including 76 females and 61 males in the state of Zamfara, just days ahead of a deadline set by the kidnappers for the payment of a 1 billion naira ($690,000) ransom for their release.

The Nigerian government delivered 14 black bags, allegedly containing the total of the ransom money, according to a security insider who requested to remain anonymous.

In parallel, the Nigerian Information Minister Mohammed Idris told a press briefing in Abuja that no ransom was paid.

This comes as the number of kidnapped students in Kuriga, northwest of Kaduna, remains unclear, with some reports mentioning over 200 and others stressing 287. However, the elders of Kuriga said Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna state had told them all the hostages had been liberated.

Dozens abducted in Nigeria kidnapping

Gunmen kidnapped dozens of individuals from a village in northwestern Nigeria on March 12, as reported by two local representatives and a UN source. This incident occurred just days after the abduction of over 250 students from a school in the same region.

In northwest Nigeria, criminal gangs frequently execute mass kidnappings, targeting schools, villages, and highways where they can swiftly abduct large groups of individuals in exchange for ransom payments.

The abductions that occurred on March 12 in the Kajuru district of Kaduna State coincided with security forces' efforts to locate the pupils who were abducted from their school in Kuriga village, situated approximately 150 kilometers (93 miles) away.

The surge in large-scale abductions poses a significant challenge to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration. His government pledged to address insecurity, while simultaneously handling a cost-of-living crisis and striving to attract more investment to Africa's most populous nation.