Daily Times
July 27, 2021
An envoy who delivered a ransom payment for the release of more than 100 Nigerian children abducted in May has himself been kidnapped, the headteacher of their Islamic school said Monday.
Northwest and central Nigeria are struggling with criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, who raid villages, killing and abducting residents after looting and burning homes.
The groups have recently stepped up attacks on schools, kidnapping students to extort ransom from parents.
On May 30, around 200 motorcycle-riding gunmen stormed Tegina town in central Niger state and abducted 136 pupils from an Islamic seminary.
Last month, 15 of the hostages escaped while their captors were asleep in a remote village in neighbouring Zamfara state where they were being held.