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More than 130 abducted schoolchildren in Nigeria are returning home after weeks in captivity

Over 130 abducted schoolchildren in Nigeria’s northwest are rescued after weeks in captivity

KADUNA, Nigeria — More than 130 children abducted more than two weeks ago from their school in Nigeria’s northwestern state of Kaduna were rescued Sunday and are getting psychological support before being returned to their families, the West African nation’s military and government officials said. The 137 children were rescued in Zamfara state, an enclave notorious for kidnappings more than …

Kaduna: Over 300 students and staff abducted by gunmen from a school in northern Nigeria earlier this month have been released, the office of the governor of the state of Kaduna said on Sunday. They were just settling into their classrooms at the government primary and secondary school when gunmen “came in dozens, riding on bikes and shooting sporadically,” said …

The kidnapping in Kaduna state on March 7 was one of the biggest such attacks in years and prompted a national outcry over security. Government spokesman Abdulaziz Abdulaziz told Al Jazeera on Sunday that it “took a lot of backchannel engagement” to release the students abducted on March 7 in Kuriga, a dusty town in Kaduna state – the first …

137 of almost 300 abducted schoolchildren in Nigeria freed after weeks in captivity

At least 137 of nearly 300 Nigerian children abducted more than two weeks ago from their school in the northwestern state of Kaduna were released on Sunday, the West African nation’s military said. The 137 children were rescued in Zamfara state, an enclave notorious for kidnappings, more than 124 miles away from their school, Nigerian military spokesman Maj. Gen. Edward …

Abuja: Gunmen in Nigeria have kidnapped at least 87 people, including women and children in Kaduna state, residents and police said on Monday. Kidnappings by criminal gangs demanding ransom payments have become an almost daily occurrence in Nigeria, especially in the north, with authorities seemingly powerless to stop them. 300 school children abducted last week in Nigeria The case of …

Nigerian leader rules out ransoms for abducted students as observers urge dialogue

ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s leader has ruled out the payment of ransoms for nearly 300 schoolchildren abducted from their school in the conflict-hit north a week ago, raising questions from analysts on Thursday about how best to rescue the children without hurting them. At least 1,400 students have so far been kidnapped from Nigerian schools since the first major school …

Locals tell Al Jazeera they feel abandoned by the government and will have no peace of mind until the children return. Armed men have kidnapped 15 pupils from a boarding school in northwestern Nigeria days after more than 280 students were abducted from another school with the army still searching for them. It was the third incident of mass kidnapping …

ABUJA, Nigeria — Security forces swept through large forests in Nigeria’s northwest region on Friday in search of nearly 300 children abducted from their school by motorcycle-riding gunmen in the latest mass kidnapping, which analysts and activists blamed on the failure of intelligence and a slow security response. “I am confident that the victims will be rescued,” said Nigerian President …

More than 200 children are abducted from Nigerian school in raid linked to Boko Haram terror group

The state shares a border with Kaduna state, currently a haven for criminal gangs known locally as bandits. At least 50 people have been killed and dozens abducted by gunmen in Plateau state in central Nigeria, residents and a community leader said on Monday. But the state shares a border with the northwestern Kaduna state, where suspected bandits – a …

Gunmen in Nigeria on Sunday freed 10 students abducted in the northwest Kaduna state after collecting a ransom, a school official told The Associated Press. Eleven of the 121 students of the Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna are still being held, Hayab said, expressing frustration at the refusal of the gunmen to release all the students at once. In …

Kidnappers free 14 Nigerian students abducted in Kaduna state

Kidnappers have released the remaining 14 students who had been held captive after being abducted last month from a northern Nigerian university, officials said. Armed groups have repeatedly attacked schools and universities in northwest Nigeria in the last few months, abducting more than 700 students for ransom since December. “Fourteen of the abducted students of the university have been freed,” …

Nigerian security forces stepped up efforts on Saturday to rescue dozens of students who were abducted from their hostels in northwestern Kaduna state in the latest attack on schools, police and officials said. Gunmen stormed the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation in Mando at the outskirts of the state capital, Kaduna city, late Thursday and took 39 students away while …