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Mass abductions across Nigeria continue to leave psychological wounds and unanswered questions.
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Survivors say ransom deals were negotiated while government officials claimed “no negotiations”.
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Years later, most of the masterminds remain unidentified and unpunished.
1. Chibok Girls — 276 Taken in One Night (Borno, 2014)
It was meant to be a WAEC preparation week.
Instead, April 14, 2014 became a nightmare for Chibok town. Boko Haram stormed the Government Girls Secondary School and abducted 276 schoolgirls.
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The incident ignited global outrage. But behind the “Bring Back Our Girls” campaigns, grim realities lingered:
Over 90 girls are still unaccounted for.
Survivors say they were forced into slavery, marriages, or converted under duress.
Yet, no known Boko Haram commander has been publicly convicted for this crime.
2. Dapchi Girls — One Girl Refused to Surrender Her Faith (Yobe, 2018)
110 schoolgirls were abducted from Government Girls’ Science Technical College, Dapchi.
Thirty days later, Boko Haram returned them.
But one girl wasn’t among them — Leah Sharibu, who refused to renounce her Christianity. She remains in captivity as of June 2025.
Her family’s pleas have been met with silence.
3. Bethel Baptist School Mass Abduction (Kaduna, 2021)
In the early hours of July 5, 2021, 121 students were taken from their hostels by armed bandits.
The students were released gradually — not through rescue operations, but via ransom payments reportedly exceeding ₦100 million.
Parents had to crowdsource money and sell assets.
Government officials denied involvement, yet security experts confirm “negotiated settlements” were made behind closed doors.
4. Greenfield University — Where Ransom Failed (Kaduna, April 2021)
Bandits stormed Greenfield University, kidnapped 20 students, and executed five to pressure families.
The remaining were released only after ₦150 million and 10 new motorcycles were handed over, according to family insiders.
“Our children paid with their lives. The killers are still free,” said one grieving father.
This remains one of Nigeria’s bloodiest university abductions.
5. Afaka Forestry College (Kaduna, 2021)
Another Kaduna hit.
39 students from Federal College of Forestry Mechanization were kidnapped.
Shockingly, videos of the abducted students crying for help surfaced online within days. It took weeks of negotiation and fundraising before they were released.
The trauma pushed many to abandon school entirely.
6. Epe Schoolboys — Dragged into the Creeks (Lagos, 2017)
Six students from Igbonla Model College were taken from their hostels by armed militants and transported via boats into the swamps of the Niger Delta.
They were held for 65 days under harsh jungle conditions.
The boys were released only after families reportedly paid ₦30 million and several drums of fuel.
Till today, no suspect has been paraded by authorities.
