The Nigerian army on Monday handed over more than 400 women and children to local officials after they were freed from Boko Haram captivity. The victims had been abducted earlier this year in Borno State, located in the country’s northeast.

Since 2009, a jihadist insurgency led by Boko Haram and later by its offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions across northeastern Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation.

Mass kidnappings followed by ransom payments are a common tactic employed by the Islamist groups.

The military stated on Sunday that around 360 individuals were freed over the weekend, not through a Boko Haram release but as a result of an army operation based on intelligence.

Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum noted on Monday that an additional 82 captives had been rescued “two to three weeks ago,” bringing the total number of former hostages to approximately 434.

The victims were kidnapped from the village of Ngoshe, less than 10 kilometers from the Cameroonian border, in the Gwoza hills—a known stronghold of Boko Haram. The settlement has repeatedly suffered attacks from Islamist fighters.

“We thank Allah the Almighty for this rescue,” said 43-year-old Hassana Buba, one of the freed women, speaking at the Pulka displacement camp where the former captives were handed over. “We are very grateful and we are celebrating this,” she added.

Authorities deny paying ransoms, though analysts argue that such payments are routine, made both by the government and by victims’ families.

A Lagos-based consultancy reported that approximately $1.66 million was paid in ransoms from July 2024 to June 2025 to various armed groups in Nigeria, including jihadists, bandits, and separatists.