After Orire, Kogi operation: 529 kidnapped schoolchildren, worshipers, farmers, others remain in captivity

…for more than 60 days •Borno, Kwara, Kaduna, Zamfara hard hit •DHQ: 1, 754 captives regained freedom in six months •‘Hostages figure could top 7, 000 across seven states’ •Security experts blame poor intelligence coordination, weak political will •CSOs charge govt to dismantle kidnapping networks, create national hostage database By Nnamdi Ojiego Barely days after security forces secured the release of the 39 pupils and seven teachers abducted from Oriire, Oyo State, another school came under attack.“The true measure of success for Nigeria’s security agencies will not be one successful rescue operation, but the systematic dismantling of kidnapping networks, the safe return of those still held, and a sustained reduction in abductions nationwide’, he stressed.

The challenge before government, they argue, is no longer limited to rescuing hostages, to dismantle the criminal networks, financing structures and intelligence systems that have enabled kidnapping to evolve into one of Nigeria’s most profitable organised crimes.