Maiduguri: More than 300 school children abducted by armed gunmen have been freed in Katsina province, northwest of Nigeria. Katsina Governor Aminu Bello Masari said on Thursday on Nigeria’s official TV ‘NTA’ that security officials have freed 344 school children and are being transported to the capital of Katsina.
Children will be medically examined before being sent to their families. Masari said, “Most of the children have been freed.” He did not comment on whether the government provided any ransom for this. Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari expressed happiness over the release of the children, saying, “The families of the children, the entire country and the international community have come with great relief.”
The terrorist organization Boko Haram took responsibility for kidnapping the children of a government secondary school located in Kankara in Katsina state. Abubakar Shekau, a Boca Haram leader, had said in a video that schools were not being taught in conformity with Islam. At the time when the kidnapping incident took place, more than 800 children were present in the school. Hundreds of children escaped but it was then believed that more than 330 children were kidnapped.
