International

The kidnappers of more than 280 students and teachers in Nigeria ask for a ransom of 567,000 euros

The kidnappers of more than 280 students and teachers captured last Thursday in the center-north of Nigeria, in a town in the state of Kaduna, asked the families for a rescue of one billion nairas (about 567,000 euros), two leaders of local civil society confirmed to EFE on Wednesday.

“They have contacted us, they have asked us for a billion nairas to free the students and teachers. They threatened to kill all the captives if they do not receive the money by the end of this month,” Abdullahi Umar, a community leader in the town of Kuriga, where the events happened, told EFE by phone.

Umar stressed that it is “a huge amount of money” and that they do not know how to get it and explained that the parents of the kidnapped minors and the neighbors of the area have tried to raise the funds since the kidnappers contacted them last weekend.

“But we haven’t gathered much. We ask the Government and well-intentioned people to help us. They say that the payment of ransoms is illegal but we can’t let our children die,” Umar added.

The kidnapping, which has shocked the whole country and the international community, occurred early in the morning of March 7 at the primary school of the Local Educational Authority in Kuriga, when the attackers – about a hundred, according to EFE then a resident – surrounded a group of students and teachers and pushed them into the forest, where some managed to flee.

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The request for the rescue was also confirmed to EFE by the undersecretary of the regional office of the Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA), Farouk Alhassan.

“It’s outrageous. We receive information that the bandits demand a billion nairas (…) The Government should try to guarantee the safe return of children and teachers,” Alhassan said.

EFE did not get a response when it tried to contact the state commissioner for Internal Security and Interior of Kaduna, Samuel Aruwan.

The Nigerian authorities have ruled out the payment of a ransom to get the release of the captives.

Speaking to the press this Wednesday in the country’s capital, Abuya, the Nigerian Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, assured that the president of the country, Bola Tinubu, “has ordered the Government not to pay any ransom to any of these criminal elements.”

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“Security agencies are working day and night. These children and these people who have been kidnapped by criminals will be safe again very soon,” he said.

For his part, the human rights activist and former legislator Shehu Sani, who in the past represented the state of Kaduna in the Senate (High Chamber) of Nigeria, pointed out through the social network X that “the negotiations with the bandits who kidnapped Kaduna’s students are fine as long as they do not involve large payments.”

According to Sani, “it would have to be a negotiation where cents are not mentioned” because “this information about his ransom demands is a scandalous madness.”

Some states of Nigeria – especially in the center and northwest of the country – suffer incessant attacks by “bandits”, a term used in the country to name criminal gangs that commit assaults and mass kidnappings to ask for large ransoms.

The attacks are repeated despite the repeated promises to end the violence by the Nigerian Government, which has reinforced the deployment of security forces.

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To this insecurity is added that caused since 2009 by the activity of the jihadist group Boko Haram in the northeast of the country and, from 2016, also by its splinterion, the Islamic State in the Province of West Africa (ISWAP).

Central America

U.S. extradites Iranian man over alleged sanctions evasion scheme

The United States has extradited from Panama an Iranian national accused of evading economic sanctions against Iran by illegally exporting U.S. technology. He is scheduled to appear this Monday before a court in Seattle.

Reza Dindar, 44, was extradited on April 17 after being detained in Panama since July 2025 on charges related to export control violations between 2011 and 2012, allegedly carried out through companies based in China.

The defendant appeared before a U.S. district court in Seattle, where he faces charges of violating sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran in 1995 during the administration of Bill Clinton. These sanctions prohibit the unauthorized export, re-export, or supply—directly or indirectly—of U.S. goods, technology, or services to Iran or its government.

According to the indictment, between 2010 and 2014, Dindar led the company New Port Sourcing Solutions in Xi’an, China, which allegedly concealed the procurement of U.S. products for shipment to clients in Iran.

International

Elon Musk skips French court appearance over X investigation

Billionaire Elon Musk did not appear this Monday before French authorities, who had summoned him for a voluntary statement as part of an investigation into his social media platform X, prosecutors told AFP.

The platform has been under investigation since early 2025 following complaints from lawmakers alleging bias in its algorithms, which may have altered its functioning and interfered in politics in France.

The probe has since expanded to include other alleged offenses, such as complicity in the distribution of child sexual abuse material, as well as the role of Grok in spreading denialist content and sexually explicit fake images.

In early February, investigators raided X’s offices in Paris. The company has denied any wrongdoing, describing the searches as “political” and “abusive.”

At that time, the Paris prosecutor’s office summoned Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino to provide voluntary testimony as those responsible for the platform during the period under investigation.

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Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau also stated that X employees were called to testify as witnesses between April 20 and April 24.

International

Four injured in shooting at Teotihuacán archaeological site in Mexico

Four more people were injured by gunfire during the ആക്രമ attack at Teotihuacán, one of the most emblematic archaeological complexes in Mexico, authorities confirmed.

The Secretary of Security of the State of Mexico, Cristóbal Castañeda, reported that the victims include two Colombian nationals, one Russian, and one Canadian. Additionally, two other individuals were injured due to falls, according to a statement from local authorities.

President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed concern over the incident, stating on social media that “what happened today in Teotihuacán deeply pains us.”

Federal authorities recovered a firearm, a knife, and ammunition at the scene, which remains under the protection of state police and the Guardia Nacional, according to the federal Security Cabinet.

Located about 50 kilometers from Mexico City, Teotihuacán is a major tourist destination frequently visited by both domestic and international travelers.