Nigeria military has announced the release of 137 school children out of the 287 students reportedly kidnapped by Bandits on March 7, 2024 at Lea primary and government secondary school in Kuriga community in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

It was gathered that the freed students were rescued by men of the Nigeria military and local vigilantes in the early hours on Sunday in Zamfara State.

It is yet to be ascertained if any ransom was paid for the release of the freed students.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had vowed not to pay ransom for the release of the school children, an action that was widely believed to be  done by his immediate predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari despite he was a military general.

It would be recalled that an estimated 287 students were abducted when bandits on motorcycles rode through their school, taking them away in an incident that sparked outrage and condemnation from several quarters including the UN children’s welfare agency UNICEF.

A press statement issued and photographs of the freed students made available by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, indicated that a total of 137 students were rescued, contrary to reports that 287 children were abducted by bandits on March 7.

According to the statement, the children were rescued in Zamfara State in the early hours of Sunday, through the joint efforts of the military and local authorities.

The rescued hostages, according to the military comprises of 76 females and 61 males, with ages between eight and 15.

The statement said the rescued students will be handed over to the Kaduna State Government for further action.

“It would be recalled that on 7 March 2024, troops received information that terrorists had invaded LEA School Kuriga in Chikun Local Government of Kaduna State. During the incident unconfirmed number of pupils were abducted. Following the incident, the military committed to leaving no stone unturned until all the hostages were rescued.

“Accordingly, 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. The hostages are the same persons who were abducted from the school at Kuriga in Chikun Local Governemnt Area of Kaduna State.

“The rescued hostages totalling 137 comprise 76 females and 61 males. They were rescued in Zamfara State and would be conveyed and handed over to the Kaduna State Government for further action”, the military said in a statement announcing the release of the students.

Channels Television in its report indicated that “Nigeria has been hit by a wave of mass kidnappings and many victims are still missing.

Last weekend, kidnappers abducted more than 100 people in two attacks in Kaduna state.

On Saturday, the army said it had rescued 16 pupils kidnapped just days after the Kuriga attack from a school in Sokoto, also in the northwest.

In the early 2000s, kidnappers targeted oil workers in the Niger Delta, but hostage-taking has since spiralled into a nationwide industry and has become a favoured tactic of bandit gangs and jihadists.

Nigerian risk consultancy SBM Intelligence said it had recorded 4,777 people abducted since Tinubu took office in May last year.

Some experts believe the country’s economic crisis is now driving a rise in kidnappings as desperate Nigerians turn to crime for income.

The mass kidnapping in Kaduna State and another in the northeast came almost 10 years after Boko Haram militants triggered a huge international outcry in 2014 by abducting more than 250 schoolgirls from Chibok in the northeast.

Boko Haram and its rival group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) still regularly carry out abductions in the northeast.

But with the rise of heavily armed gangs, the northwest has also become severely affected by kidnappings.

The gangs have targeted schools and colleges in the past, but there had been a lull in these attacks before the Kuriga abduction”.

Meanwhile the military spokesperson also speaking as reported by News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, said; “Relatedly, it would be recalled that on March 21, troops equally rescued 16 pupils (Almajiris) with a woman taken hostage in Gada Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

“These hostages were handed over to the Sokoto State government.

“These efforts demonstrate the armed forces’ resolve to find other innocent hostages and track down the terrorists that perpetrated these crimes.

“These efforts would continue until other hostages are found and the terrorists arrested, tried, and brought to justice by Nigerian law.

“Troops are employing similar efforts to track down the culprits responsible for the killing of 18 soldiers in Okuama Community in Delta State.

“Justice awaits the culprits, as they can not go unpunished,”