Abuja, Nigeria:
Ten years after the kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls, Nigeria is facing a resurgence of mass kidnappings.
The anniversary of Boko Haram's infamous attack comes after two large-scale kidnappings: one in the same northeastern state as Chibok, the other in the northwestern state of Kaduna, where more than 130 children were taken from school.
As the country grapples with security challenges on several fronts, hostage-taking has grown into a nationwide industry and has become a favorite tactic of bandit gangs and jihadists.
What is the background?
Kidnappers targeted oil workers in the Niger Delta in the early 2000s, but the problem escalated after a 2009 jihadist uprising in the northeast.
The kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok on April 14, 2014 made headlines around the world. Nearly 100 of the prisoners are still missing.
Boko Haram and the rival group Islamic State West Africa (ISWAP) still regularly commit kidnappings.
But with the rise of heavily armed gangs of criminals known as bandits, the northwest has become the region worst hit by kidnappings.
The gangs have attacked schools and colleges in the past, but there had been a recent lull in such attacks before the mass kidnapping in Kaduna State.
Kidnapping gangs also operate nationwide, preying on everyone from schoolchildren to the families of traditional monarchs.
Some experts believe that the country's economic crisis is causing an increase in kidnappings as desperate Nigerians turn to crime for a living.
“It's all about lack of money and poverty,” said Emeka Okoro, an analyst at Nigerian risk consultancy SBM Intelligence.
“Kidnapping is lucrative; huge sums have been paid in the past to rescue schoolchildren.”
How big is the problem?
Kidnapping data is unreliable due to under-reporting, and daily kidnappings rarely receive global attention in Nigeria.
SBM said 4,777 people have been kidnapped since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came to power in May last year.
More than 1,680 students were abducted from Nigerian schools between early 2014 and the end of 2022, according to the charity Save the Children.
What have the authorities done?
In 2022, a law was introduced banning the handing over of money to kidnappers and officials refused to pay ransoms to secure the release of victims.
Many families say they have little trust in authorities and feel they have no choice. They often pool their savings to meet the kidnappers' demands.
Authorities have used methods such as registering mobile phone SIM cards to help track kidnappers.
The police have deployed anti-kidnapping units, but the forests where gangs hide are difficult to access and control.
In the northwest, authorities have tried to negotiate with bandits, broker amnesty deals and deploy vigilante groups.
But they have had little success and critics say the kidnapping crisis has spiraled out of control.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)