The gunmen who kidnapped at least 287 school children from a school in northern Nigeria last week have issued a chilling ransom demand and threat, according to a local community member.
The assailants are demanding a ransom of 1 billion naira (approximately $621,848) and have threatened to kill all of the students if their demands are not met within a 20-day deadline.
The mass abduction took place on the morning of March 7, when armed bandits on motorcycles stormed the LEA Primary and Secondary School in Kuriga village, located in Nigeria’s Kaduna state. While some students were initially rescued, 287 remain in captivity, with about 100 from the primary school and the rest from the secondary school.
Aminu Jibril, a resident of Kuriga, told CNN that he received a call from the kidnappers on Tuesday.
“They called me from a hidden number… and demanded 1 billion naira as a ransom for the students,” Jibril said. “They said [the ultimatum] will only last for three weeks or 20 days from the date they kidnapped the children and if there’s no action from the government, they will kill all of them.”
Jibril believes the kidnappers obtained his number from the head of the school’s junior secondary section, who was also abducted during the attack.
The gunmen also provided a motive for the brazen kidnapping, stating it was “a way of getting back at the government and security agencies for killing their gang members.”
The incident highlights the severe and ongoing security crisis in Nigeria’s northwestern region, where criminal gangs, locally referred to as “bandits,” frequently carry out mass abductions for ransom.
Kaduna State, which borders the Nigerian capital Abuja, has been a hotspot for such violence. The state has witnessed several mass abductions in recent years, including in the Chikun district where Kuriga is located.
In a grim reminder of the high stakes, a similar abduction in 2021 in the same area resulted in gunmen killing five university students after a ransom deadline passed.
Kaduna Governor Uba Sani said in a statement that his government was “doing everything possible to ensure the safe return of the pupils and students.” He also confirmed that one community member was killed while confronting the abductors during the initial attack.
The Nigerian government often states a official policy of not paying ransoms, arguing it fuels the cycle of kidnappings. This stance leaves authorities in a difficult position as they race against time to secure the children’s release through alternative means before the kidnappers’ deadline expires.
