In Nigeria, the kidnappers of almost 300 children demand a ransom for them

In Nigeria, an armed group that abducted more than 280 children from school on March 7 demanded a ransom for their release. The kidnappers estimated the freedom of the schoolchildren at one million naira (this is the local currency), which is 620,432 dollars.

A representative of the families of the abducted told Reuters that he had received a phone call from the abductors. According to him, they issued an ultimatum: if the money is not handed over within 20 days after the kidnapping, all the hostages will be killed.

Nigerian security forces are trying to determine where the kidnappers and hostages are.

On March 7, about fifty armed men attacked a school in the village of Kuriga in northern Nigeria and took hostage more than 300 students between the ages of seven and 15. Some of them were later released, but at least 286 children were taken away by the attackers. The director of the school said that one person was shot while trying to save schoolchildren.

• Abductions of children and women in Nigeria occur regularly. The abduction in the village of Kuriga became one of the most massive since 2014, when the radical group Boko Haram kidnapped more than 270 schoolgirls from a dormitory in Chibok. 98 of them still remain in captivity, they are forced to marry their captors, some have returned home with their children.
• No one has yet taken responsibility for the current abduction of children. The Associated Press and Reuters note that the tactics of the protected ransom council are now being used by criminal groups without an ideological focus. These could be shepherds who conflict with local farmers.