The group was abducted on 8 June in Zamfara state. Four people were also killed during the incident. The Zamfara state government said they were released without any ransom being paid, but gave no further details.
The group will now be given medical checks and debriefed before they return to their homes. A spate of kidnappings has taken place within the region during recent months.
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Since December 2020, quite 1,000 people have been abducted. Most have later been freed, reportedly after ransoms were paid, but some have been killed.
Authorities have blamed the incidents on bandits, a loose term for kidnappers, armed robbers, cattle rustlers, and other armed militia operating within the region who are largely motivated by money.
Since the well-publicized abduction in 2014 of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok secondary school by Boko Haram Islamist militants in Borno state, more armed groups have resorted to mass abduction of students.
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the military to flush out criminals in Zamfara and the neighboring states of Kaduna and Katsina.
Earlier this week, during a raid against a criminal gang, a Nigerian air force plane was shot down on the border of Zamfara and Kaduna states. The pilot survived the attack by ejecting from the plane and fleeing to safety.
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anonymau5 on July 21st, 2021 at 11:04 UTC »
The abuse and torture they endured... It's just tragic
Silvea on July 21st, 2021 at 10:59 UTC »
They said no ransom was paid, but that doesn’t make sense. It’s not like kidnappers like this just give up and release people. They just kill all of the hostages and try again. Hoping that the ransom will be paid since they know you will just kill the hostages.
I’m sure there are multiple reasons for the release, but I can only think of two that actually make a lot of sense. The first being maybe they were told they would be hunted and killed and they released them to save their own lives. Or the other option which makes the most sense to me which is... they paid the ransom. They say they didn’t but governments lie all the time so that doesn’t mean much to me. My guess is they paid the ransom but are saying they didn’t to discourage others from trying this. The reason people don’t pay ransoms is because it just reinforces this works and causes a rise in these events.
metadataisnotreal on July 21st, 2021 at 10:25 UTC »
This is fucked up is so many levels.