Nigerian media reported on May 5, local time, that 29 students of the Federal Forestry Mechanization Institute in kaduna state in the north of the country were released 55 days after being kidnapped.
A representative of the parents of a kidnapped student named Usman told the media that 29 abducted students had been released at about 1600 hours on 5 May. He said the students’ release was “a relief to parents” but declined to say how much the ransom was paid to the kidnappers to free them. There have also been media reports that the number of students released is 27, kaduna state government and police have not yet released information.
Late on the night of 11 March, a large number of armed bandits attacked the Federal Institute of Forestry Mechanization in the Afarka region of Kaduna State. The Nigerian military arrived to rescue 180 students and staff, but 39 male and female students were kidnapped. The father of one of the kidnapped schoolgirls died of a heart attack after learning that his daughter had been kidnapped. A few weeks later, a total of 10 abducted students were released in batches. Their parents reportedly paid a ransom of 17 million naira and the kidnappers initially demanded 500 million naira .
Kidnapping is rampant in Nigeria, where armed kidnappers have repeatedly attacked schools in several states since December, and more than 700 teachers and students have been kidnapped. Kaduna state is one of Nigeria’s worst-hit areas for kidnapping and other security problems, with 323 people killed and 949 kidnapped in the first three months of this year.
