ALBAWABA - More than 250 schoolchildren kidnapped by gunmen in northwestern Nigeria earlier this month have been released, according to the local governor on Sunday.
"The abducted Kuriga schoolchildren have been released unharmed," Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani announced in a statement that did not detail how they were rescued.
The abductions are being blamed on criminal gangs known locally as bandits. They often attack towns, plunder villages, and engage in mass kidnappings for ransom in northwest and north-central Nigeria.
The kidnapping in Kuriga, Kaduna state, on March 7 was one of the largest such attacks in years, sparking a nationwide uproar over insecurity.
"This is indeed a day of joy," Governor Sani said, thanking the army, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the national security adviser, and "all Nigerians who prayed fervently for the safe return of the school children".
According to relatives, the kidnappers sought an enormous amount of money in exchange for the students release, but President Tinubu claimed he had ordered security forces not to pay.
