The hundreds of students who were on Friday, 11, December 2020, abducted in Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State, the northwestern part of Nigeria have been released.
In a televised interview with the state channel, NTA, the Katsina state Governor Aminu Bello Masari confirmed that 344 boys held in the Rugu Forest in neighboring Zamfara state had been freed.
I think we have recovered most of the boys,” he said.
However, it is not yet certain if all the boys who were abducted have been released.
Earlier, a presidential aide said the schoolboys had been freed, but it was unclear how many were released amid continuing uncertainty surrounding how many were abducted from their all-boys school last Friday in Kankara, a town in Katsina state.
Masari said Nigeria security forces had cordoned off the area where the boys were being held and had been ordered not to fire their weapons.
“We had already established indirect contact to try to make sure that we secure the release of the children unharmed,” he said. “We thank God that they took our advice and not a single shot was fired.”
A security aide to the governor told the AFP news agency that 344 students were rescued and are in Zamfara undergoing checks. “We are grateful to God they have been released,” Ibrahim Katsina said.
The governor added that the boys were on their way back to Katsina state and would be medically examined and reunited with their families on Friday.
“I am so happy,” retired health worker Shuaibu Kankara, whose 13-year-old son Annas Shuaibu was among the kidnapped boys, told the Reuters news agency.
“We are so grateful to the governor of Katsina and all those who worked hard to secure their release,” said Kankara, adding that his only concern was to be reunited with his son.
Recall that 333 boys from Government Science Secondary School, kankara, Katsina state were abducted just before midnight on Friday, December 11, 2020, with 17 of them who manage to escape and reunite with their family, after two had initially returned home.
