Why Nigeria is still Plagued by Mass Kidnappings Ten Years after the Chibok Abductions

Nigeria Since the militant group Boko Haram abducted about 300 students from an all-girls school in the town of Chibok ten years ago, Nigeria has seen several kidnappings, particularly in the country’s volatile north.

A criminal group abducted 287 students from the government secondary school in Kuriga, a town in Kaduna state, just last month on March 7. Two days later, 17 pupils were abducted when an additional armed group broke into the hostel of a boarding school in Gidan Bakuso, Sokoto state.

Nigeria suffers from a lot of insecurity. Since 2009, Boko Haram has been conducting a deadly insurgency in the northeast; in the north-central region, conflicts between farmers and herders have intensified; and in the northwest, gunmen are terrorizing the populace by engaging in banditry.

Vulnerable groups have been widely targeted throughout the nation; examples include kidnappings carried out for ransom or as a means of coercing the government into complying with demands made by the aggressors. According to experts, during the past four years, there has been a rise in kidnappings for ransom due to deteriorating economic situations.