Dozens of pupils freed in northern Nigeria after 3 months
Dozens of young children held captive by gunmen for three months in northern Nigeria are awaiting reunions with their family members after being freed and taken to the capital of Niger state
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Dozens of young children held captive by gunmen for three months in northern Nigeria awaited reunions with their family members Friday after being freed and taken to the state capital.
Girls as young as five draped in long hijabs and boys wearing new dress clothes stepped off a white minibus and filed past photographers in Minna, the capital of Niger state. Their arrival came hours after news of their release came from the school's head teacher.
The children were served meals and greeted by Niger state Gov. Abubakar Sani Bello.
It was not immediately known how many students had been released; authorities previously said 136 had been taken along with several teachers. Local media though have reported that as many as six children may have died in captivity due to the harsh conditions.
Gunmen on motorcycles had attacked the Salihu Tanko Islamic School in Niger state in late May. Other preschoolers were left behind as they could not keep pace when the gunmen hurriedly moved those abducted into the forest.
Head teacher Abubakar Garba Alhassan did not provide details of their release, but parents of the students have over the past weeks struggled to raise the ransoms demanded by their abductors.
More than 1,000 students have been forcibly taken from their schools in a series of school abductions this year, according to an AP tally of figures previously confirmed by the police. Although most of those kidnapped have been released, at least 200 are still held by their abductors.
Nigeria's government has been unable to halt the spate of abductions for ransom. As a result, many schools have been forced to close because of the kidnapping risk.
After one abduction at a university in Kaduna state earlier this year, gunmen demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars in ransom. They killed five other students to compel the students’ parents to raise the money and later released 14 others.
___
Asadu reported from Lagos Nigeria.