Relatives say kidnappers demanded large payments to return students
Abuja:
More than 250 students abducted by gunmen in a mass kidnapping spree in northwest Nigeria earlier this month have been released, the governor said on Sunday.
The March 7 kidnapping in Kuriga, Kaduna State, was one of the largest such attacks in years and sparked a nationwide outcry over insecurity.
Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani said in a statement that “the kidnapped Kuriga schoolchildren have been released safely,” without specifying how they were released.
“This is indeed a day of joy,” he said, thanking the military, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Security Adviser and “all Nigerians who fervently pray for the safe return of schoolchildren.”
Local criminal gangs known as bandits have been blamed for the kidnappings. They frequently target communities in northwest and north-central Nigeria, robbing villages and carrying out mass kidnappings for ransom.
Relatives said the kidnappers demanded large payments for the students’ return, but President Tinubu said he had ordered security forces not to pay.
Kidnapping victims in Nigeria are usually released after negotiating with authorities, but a 2022 law prohibits providing funds to kidnappers and officials deny paying ransoms.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
