After spending 178 days in captivity, nine of the 21 students who were abducted from the Federal University Gusau in Zamfara State have been freed.
The students were a part of a larger group that terrorists kidnapped during a raid in September of the previous year from an off-campus dormitory in Sabon Gida, which is across the street from the university.
According to one of the negotiators who wished to remain anonymous, the release was achieved after protracted talks that lasted for around four months.
Intense lobbying efforts were made throughout the arduous procedure to guarantee the protection and ultimate release of the kidnapped students.
When they were kidnapped in September of last year, security personnel acted quickly, and within hours of the incident.
But most of them stayed in the hands of their captors, which resulted in a long negotiation process to free them.
The terrorists made it clear to the negotiator that they were not acting in response to ransom demands, indicating that there may have been other reasons for the kidnapping, as PREMIUM TIMES was informed.
However, the precise causes are still being looked into and discussed in relation to the tragedy.
Concern has been raised about the kidnapping of a student from the Federal University of Gusau, which has brought attention to the ongoing security issues in Zamfara State and the larger northwest region of Nigeria, where educational institutions are increasingly being targeted by terrorist and bandit activities.
In spite of the ongoing unpredictability, the release of the nine students offers some hope and comfort to the impacted families as well as the campus community.
However, the circumstance emphasizes how critical it is to implement increased security protocols and deliberate actions in order to stop similar incidents in the future and guarantee the safety of local inhabitants and students.
"As soon as the students were abducted, we started talking with them. When we persisted, they finally listened to us after initially being reluctant, he added.
He claimed that the terror group's head, Ali Kawaje, was upset with the federal government and the state of Zamfara for detaining his brother.
For security considerations, the negotiator, who wished to remain anonymous, stated, "He insisted that we must make amends."
Following Mr. Kawaje's death in an airstrike by the Nigerian Air Force, the negotiator stated that the The new group commander insisted that the kids would not be freed, thus the negotiations had to begin over.
We needed many weeks to persuade him, with the assistance of several Fulani leaders. When we got back to talking, they stated that the kidnapping had been done to get some of their relatives freed by security guards, not for financial gain.
"Some of the Fulani leaders we involved in the negotiations made commitments that resulted in the release of these nine students," the speaker stated.
The negotiator responded that the terrorists themselves were "clear from the beginning" that money should not be involved when asked if money was involved.
"We don't even know who they're talking about when they say the federal government should free even those individuals. Thus, we did not discuss financial matters with the administration, and there was also no prisoner exchange. I can only tell you that," he remarked.
The militants kidnapped the students in the Babbar Doka forest, which is close to Kaduna State. They were turned over to the negotiators and released late on Friday evening.
This is a portion of their commitment, and with God's help, we think they'll share more. With the National Security Adviser on board, we aim to accomplish more. The fact that there is no financial exchange during the procedure is crucial, he stated.
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According to information obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the pupils have been turned over to security services, who would thereafter turn them over to the state administration.
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