Two-hundred-and-eighty-six students and staff were kidnapped from a school in northern Nigeria last week by gunmen who have demanded a total of 1 billion nairas ($620,432) for their release, according to a spokesman and local councilor for the families.
School children, among older students and members of the school staff, were abducted on March 7 in the town of Kuriga, in Nigera's northwestern Kaduna State, in the first mass kidnapping in the country since 2021, reported Reuters.
Jubril Aminu, a community leader who acts as a spokesman for the families of the hostages, said he had received a call Tuesday from the kidnappers.
"They made a total of a 1 billion (naira) ransom demand for all the pupils, students and staff of the school," Aminu said.
"They gave an ultimatum to pay the ransom within 20 days, effective from the date of the kidnap. They said they will kill all the students and the staff if the ransom demand is not met."
An elected official from the Kuriga Ward municipal council, Idris Ibrahim, confirmed the ransom demand and the amount.
"Yes, the kidnappers called the community through Jubril Aminu's number and made the demand," he said.
"They called from a hidden number but the authorities are working on getting the number," Ibrahim told Reuters.
He added that the security forces were taking "adequate measures" to secure the release of the students.
Mohammed Idris, the country's information minister, revealed Tinubu's stance on the kidnappings in Kuriga was that security forces should secure the hostages' release without any payment to the kidnappers.
"The president has directed that security agencies must as a matter of urgency ensure that these children and all those who have been kidnapped are brought back to safety and also in the process ensure that not a dime is paid for ransom."
Legislation imposing jail time for anyone found paying a ransom to free a hostage went into effect under Tinubu's predecessor, as kidnappings have become a frequent norm in Nigeria.
The ransom demand amounts to more than $2,000 per hostage or more than the annual per capita income in Nigeria, according to International Monetary Data.
