Hundreds of captives released by Boko Haram in Nigeria

Several hundred people kidnapped earlier this year by Boko Haram in a village in Borno state, northeastern Nigeria, were freed over the weekend, a senator and a local youth leader said on Sunday.

Kidnappings, often for ransom, have become a key tactic for the jihadist group Boko Haram in its 17-year insurgency against the Nigerian state, which is concentrated mainly in the northeast.

Samaila Kaigama, president of the Borno South Youth Alliance (BOSYA), said his group “secured the release of 416 women and children abducted from Ngoshe.”

They were freed on Saturday, Kaigama told reporters.

Mohammed Ali Ndume, a senator from Borno state, confirmed the release.

How the victims’ freedom was obtained remains unclear.

The captives had been held by Boko Haram militants “under harsh conditions after being taken from several communities, especially in the Ngoshe area,” he added.

“Sadly, two infants died from exhaustion due to prolonged captivity and rough terrain,” Daniel Bwala, spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu, said on social media.

The military statement said troops gathered intelligence and conducted “psychological operations” to sow “distrust within insurgent ranks” before “the assault phase began.”

The militants had demanded millions of naira in ransom for the Ngoshe hostages.

Nigerian authorities deny paying ransoms, though analysts say the practice is common among both the government and victims’ families.

Armed groups in Nigeria—including jihadists, “bandit” gangs, and separatists—have fueled a kidnapping crisis that generated roughly $1.66 million in ransoms between July 2024 and June 2025.

Ngoshe lies less than 10 kilometers from the Cameroonian border, in the Gwoza hills—a Boko Haram stronghold—and has faced repeated attacks.

Since the Boko Haram uprising began in 2009, the jihadist insurgency in Nigeria has spawned multiple armed groups, caused tens of thousands of deaths, and displaced millions.