(Al Jazeera Media Network) More than 130 students abducted by gunmen from a school in Nigeria earlier this month have been released “unharmed” days before a ransom deadline, say officials.
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 mass kidnapping in Nigeria since 2021.
“[All] of them were released and all of them were fine,” he said, giving the official number of freed students at 137 – much lower than the figure of 286 students and one staff member in most media reports. He claimed the media reports were wrong, but did not give further details.
Earlier on Sunday, Uba Sani, governor of the northwestern state of Kaduna, said in a statement that the hostages were freed after “security operations” coordinated by the country’s national security adviser.
“We … thank all Nigerians who prayed fervently for the safe return of the school children. This is indeed a day of joy,” the governor said.