The Nigerian army on Monday handed over more than 400 women and children to local authorities who had been kidnapped earlier this year by the militant group Boko Haram in Borno State, northeast Nigeria.

Since 2009, a jihadist insurgency by Boko Haram and its rival, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and millions of displaced people in Africa’s most populous country.

Mass kidnappings, often followed by ransom-driven releases, are a common tactic used by the Islamist fighters.

The military stated on Sunday that around 360 people were freed over the weekend, not through a negotiated release by Boko Haram but during a military operation carried out using intelligence gathering.

Another 82 captives had been liberated two to three weeks earlier, Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum confirmed on Monday, bringing the total number of rescued former hostages to approximately 434.

The victims were abducted from the village of Ngoshe, located less than 10 kilometres from the Cameroonian border in the Gwoza hills, a stronghold of Boko Haram. This community has experienced repeated attacks by Islamist fighters.

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

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

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, according to a report by SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based consulting firm.