Nigeria: Kidnappers demand ransom, govt refuses to pay

Kidnap gangs, infamously known as bandits, have plagued much of Nigeria recently, especially in its north-west. In the latest incident, at least 287 school students were abducted in the north-western town of Kuriga on the 7th of March. The Kidnappers issued a warning, threatening to kill the nearly 300 abducted students if a ransom of $622,000 is not paid. The government talked tough saying that it won't pay a dime. Alarmingly, the incident marked the second mass abduction in the West African nation within a week. Earlier, on the 4th of March, suspected Boko Haram insurgents had kidnapped more than a 100 people, mostly women, in the remote Gamboru area of North-eastern Nigeria while they were collecting firewood. The twin kidnappings, though reportedly unrelated, are especially concerning given the reduction in the mass abductions over the past year.