‘Day of joy’: over 130 kidnapped Nigerian children released
- The mass abduction on March 7 was one of the biggest attacks on a school in years and sparked a national outcry about security
- Experts believe the nation’s economic crisis is driving a rise in kidnappings as desperate people turn to crime for income
More than 130 schoolchildren kidnapped by gunmen in northwestern Nigeria earlier this month were released unharmed on Sunday, officials and the army said.
The mass abduction in Kuriga, Kaduna state on March 7 was one of the biggest attacks on a school in years and sparked a national outcry over insecurity.
The army said the hostages were freed in the early hours during a rescue operation.
Spokesman Major General Edward Buba shared photos of children wearing dust-coated uniforms in buses.
“The rescued hostages totalling 137 comprise of 76 females and 61 males. They were rescued in Zamfara State and would be conveyed and handed over to the Kaduna State Government for further action,” he said.
Teachers and residents previously said around 280 pupils between the ages of eight and 15 were kidnapped when armed criminals, known in Nigeria as bandits, stormed the school on motorbikes.
