More than 300 students kidnapped in Nigeria are released

Kankara, Nigeria – More than 300 students kidnapped by gunmen in northwestern Nigeria last week have been released, Katsina state governor said Thursday.

Governor Aminu Bello Masari made the announcement on Nigerian state television, NTA, from his office.

“So far, 344 of the students have been released and handed over to security personnel. I think we can finally say we’ve recovered most of the guys, if not all, ”he said. Arrangements are being made to transport them to Katsina, he added.

The students were kidnapped from Government Science High School in Kankara last Friday. According to witnesses, men armed with AK-47 rifles abducted more than 300 students. The kidnapping, alleged by the extremist group Boko Haram, has sparked protests in the African nation against the government for not doing enough to stop attacks on schools.

In response to the kidnappings, Nigeria launched a rescue mission in which police, air force and military followed the kidnappers to their hideout in the Zango / Paula forest.

The school had more than 800 students.

To prevent further school kidnappings, Katsina State closed all its boarding schools. The nearby states of Zamfara, Jigiwa and Kano have also closed schools as a precaution.

Boko Haram has kidnapped the school children because it believes Western education is not Islamic, rebel leader Abubakar Shekau said in a video claiming responsibility for the attack, SITE Intelligence Group said.

In April 2014, the Islamist group kidnapped more than 270 girls from a school in Chibok, and about 100 are still missing.