Nigeria Secures Release of Last 130 Kidnapped Students Amid a Thriving Ransom Economy
Nigerian authorities announced the release of the final 130 students kidnapped from a Catholic school in November. While the ordeal is over, questions remain about how their freedom was secured and the growing 'kidnap economy' destabilizing the nation.
Nigerian authorities have secured the release of the final 130 schoolchildren taken by gunmen from a Catholic boarding school in November, a presidential spokesman announced Sunday, bringing an end to a month-long ordeal that highlighted the country's deepening security crisis.
"Another 130 abducted Niger state pupils released, none left in captivity," presidential spokesman Sunday Dare stated in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The abduction from St. Mary's co-educational boarding school in north-central Niger state was part of a wave of mass kidnappings reminiscent of the infamous 2014 Chibok abduction by Boko Haram. The exact number of victims was a point of confusion throughout the crisis.
Timeline of the Crisis
• Late November: Gunmen attack the school. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) initially reports 315 students and staff are unaccounted for.
• Immediately After: Around 50 individuals manage to escape the attackers.
• December 7: The government secures the release of a first group of about 100 students.
• December 21: The final 130 hostages are freed, officially ending the standoff.
A UN source told AFP the discrepancy in numbers likely arose because dozens thought to have been kidnapped had actually managed to flee during the chaotic attack and make their own way home. "The accounting has been complicated because the children's homes are scattered across swathes of rural Nigeria, sometimes requiring three or four hours of travel by motorbike to reach their remote villages," the source said.
Crucially, it has not been made public who was behind the mass abduction or how the government negotiated the students' release. Citing past incidents, analysts suggest a ransom was likely paid, a practice that is technically illegal in Nigeria but widely believed to be common. Kidnapping for ransom has become a lucrative criminal enterprise in the country.
Nigeria, West Africa's most populous nation, is grappling with multiple, interlocking security challenges, from jihadist insurgencies in the northeast to armed "bandit" gangs in the northwest who carry out mass kidnappings for profit.
PRISM Insight: The Kidnap-for-Ransom Economy
The recurring cycle of mass abductions in Nigeria points to more than a failure of law enforcement; it signals the consolidation of a parallel, illicit economy. A recent report by SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based consultancy, estimated that the kidnap-for-ransom industry generated at least $1.66 million between July 2024 and June 2025. This 'kidnap economy' not only terrorizes communities but also directly challenges the state's monopoly on violence and erodes public trust. While ransom payments may secure short-term releases, they effectively fund and incentivize future attacks, perpetuating a vicious cycle that undermines national stability.
The security situation has also attracted international political scrutiny. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has alleged that mass killings of Christians in Nigeria amount to a "genocide" and threatened military intervention. However, Nigeria's government and independent analysts reject that framing, arguing it oversimplifies a complex conflict driven by a mix of socio-economic, ethnic, and criminal factors, rather than purely religious persecution.
관련 기사
국제 에너지 가격 하락에도 불구하고, 한국전력이 206조 원의 누적 부채 해결을 위해 2026년 1분기 전기요금을 동결했다. 정부는 한전의 재무 안정성을 우선 과제로 삼았다.
불과 18개월 만에 두 번의 대규모 살상 사건을 겪은 호주 본다이. 공동체의 충격과 슬픔이 어떻게 사회적 분열과 정치적 분노로 번지고 있는지 심층 분석합니다.
미국과 베네수엘라가 가이아나 에세퀴보 유전을 둘러싸고 군사적 대치를 이어가고 있다. 남미의 지정학적 위기와 자원 전쟁 가능성을 다각적으로 분석한다.
나이지리아 정부가 지난 11월 무장 괴한에 피랍됐던 가톨릭 학교 학생 130명을 추가 석방했다고 발표했다. 이로써 한 달 넘게 이어진 이번 집단 납치 사태가 종결됐다.