Nigeria: 28 Baptist High School students released, 80 remain under gunmen's custody

Armed kidnappers in Nigeria have released 28 school children, where a total of 120 students were abducted at the beginning of July from the Bethel Baptist High School in the northern town of Damishi. The President of the Baptist Convention, Rev. Israel Akanji, has stated that 80 students are still under the control of gunmen. However, church officials said that the released students have been handed over to their parents at the school on Sunday. Reportedly, the gunmen have demanded 500,000 Nairas ($ 1,200) for each student under their custody.

A total of 34 kidnapped students either have been either released or escaped from their custody so far. However, Akanji said that the church did not pay any ransoms as it is against their values and law. Unfortunately, the church could not stop the parents' children from taking any action as they wanted to secure their children. The parents of the kidnapped students had been gathering daily inside the school, crying, praying, and demanding justice.

The rescue operation was undertaken by Nigeria Police

A spokesman for Nigeria Police, Mohammed Jalige, said that the security forces and civil defense forces were on a regular rescue patrol from July 12 around the forests near the village of Tsohon Gaya when they found three exhausted kidnapped victims roaming in the bush. On July 20, two students were escaped by Nigeria Police when the kidnappers ordered the students to fetch firewood from the forest. Additionally, Jalige also said that the medical examination is undergoing of the escaped students.

It is reported that the mass kidnapping of students from schools in Nigeria has increased since 2014. Since December 2020, a total of 950 students have been abducted by gunmen in Nigeria, with more than half of the abductions taking place in the past two months, reported by U.N. Children's agency. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has won elections in hopes that he would tackle the security challenges in Nigeria, but the president has not been able to do much in addressing the increasing kidnapping cases from Nigerian schools.

(With AP inputs)

(IMAGE: PIXABAY/REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)