Gunmen have released ten additional hostages from a total of 121 students who were kidnapped in July from a school in northwest Nigeria, as announced by the president of the students' parents association on Sunday. Since the kidnapping of 121 students on July 5 from a Baptist secondary school on the outskirts of Kaduna, 100 of them have either been released or managed to escape, while 21 remain in captivity. Joseph Hyab, president of the association for the kidnapped students' parents, stated on Sunday that "the kidnappers released 10 additional students after receiving their ransom, similar to the case of the students released earlier." He added, "There are still 11 students in captivity, and we hope to secure their release next time when we reach an agreement with the kidnappers." The police announced on Thursday that they had arrested three suspects believed to be involved in the kidnapping of all these students nearly three months ago.
On July 5, dozens of gunmen attacked a Baptist school in Kaduna state in the northwest, kidnapping students while they were asleep in their dormitories. The regions of northwest Nigeria have experienced looting and mass kidnappings carried out by armed gangs targeting students for ransom. According to authorities, more than a thousand students have been kidnapped since December, with most victims being released after negotiations and ransom payments, despite Nigerian authorities denying this.
