Niger Delta Weekly Update for November 28 – December 04, 2021

This edition of the weekly update highlights kidnapping for ransom in the Niger Delta with a focus on the targeted abduction of students and educators in Ondo and Edo State. According to data (see map below), more than 90 incidents of kidnapping were reported in Edo and Ondo State between January 2020 and September 2021. Recent incidents indicate a rise in the targeted abduction of school children, students and teachers in Ondo and Edo State. In July 2021, for instance, three students of a Naval School of Engineering were reportedly abducted by kidnappers in Iruekpen town in Esan West LGA, Edo State. In October, two female schoolchildren were reportedly abducted by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers in Akure, the Ondo State capital. In November, gunmen suspected to be kidnappers reportedly intercepted a school bus and abducted two pupils along Igarra-Auchi Road near Ikpeshi community in Akoko Edo LGA, Edo State. Recently, on November 26, 2021, a school principal, his deputy and three teachers were reportedly abducted by kidnappers along Auga-Ise Road in Akoko North East LGA, Ondo State.