Almost 300 school-age children kidnapped in Nigeria earlier this month have been released, according to the governor of Kaduna state, in a post on platform X this Sunday (24).
“The children kidnapped from Kuriga school were released unharmed,” Uba Sani said, without providing further details. Sani also thanked Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who “worked with us 24 hours a day to ensure the safe return of the children.”
On March 7, over 300 students were abducted by armed bandits on motorbikes who invaded the LEA Primary and Secondary School in Kuriga village in Chikun District of Kaduna, state police spokesperson, Mansur Hassan, said. The CNN in season.
Some students were rescued, but 287 of them remained with the kidnappers – around 100 were from primary school and the rest from secondary school.
The gunmen last week demanded a ransom of 1 billion naira (R$3.2 million) and threatened to kill all the students if their demands were not met, a member of the local community said.
Sani added on Sunday that the country's National Security Advisor, Nuhu Ribadu, coordinated the “security agencies' operations, which eventually resulted in this successful outcome.”
“The Nigerian Army also deserves special commendation for showing that with courage, determination and commitment, criminal elements can be degraded and security restored in our communities,” Sani said.
Kaduna state, which borders the Nigerian capital Abuja to the southwest, has struggled with recurring incidents of kidnappings for ransom by bandits and has witnessed several mass kidnappings in recent years.
Previous reporting by Nimi Princewill in Abuja and Mariya Knight.
Source: CNN Brasil
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