Dozens of Nigerian schoolchildren who were kidnapped earlier this month have been released, bringing relief to their families and the nation as a whole. The Nigerian military announced on Sunday that 137 children had been freed by security forces in the northwest of the country.
The children were taken from their school in Kuriga, a small town in the state of Kaduna, on March 7 in a brazen abduction that has become all too common in Nigeria. While the exact number of children kidnapped remains unclear, the state governor, Uba Sani, confirmed their return but did not provide further details on the circumstances of their release.
According to Nigeria’s military, 76 girls and 61 boys were rescued in the northern state of Zamfara and are now being transported back to Kaduna. The operation to free the children was successful, but the military did not disclose the total number of children abducted or provide specifics on how the rescue mission was carried out.
This incident has reignited memories of the 2014 kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok by the Islamist group Boko Haram, which sparked international outrage. While many of the Chibok girls were eventually released, some are still missing to this day. The recent spate of kidnappings in Nigeria, including the abduction of 200 people in Borno state just days before the schoolchildren were taken, highlights the ongoing security challenges facing the country.
President Bola Tinubu expressed gratitude to the military for securing the release of the children and emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring the safety of schools as places of learning, not targets for abductions. The scourge of kidnappings in Nigeria, driven by ransom demands, remains a pressing issue that requires decisive action to restore peace and stability to the nation.
