Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State has said that the 344 released students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, will be reunited with their families on Friday.
Masari said in an interview with Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) that some of the boys were still missing but that the released ones would meet their families after medical examinations.
“We have recovered most of the boys. It’s not all of them,” he said.
Only 344 of over 500 students were released after a negotiation that, according to the Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State, no dime was paid as ransom in the process.
“This is a huge relief to the entire country and international community,” Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari posted on Twitter.
“The entire country is grateful to Governor Masari, the intelligence agencies, the military and the police force,” the president said.
The news of the boys’ release came shortly after Boko Haram released a video showing some of the schoolboys with the Boko Haram Islamist militant group.
The video obtained by HumAngle showed a group of the distraught boys in a wooded area imploring security forces to leave the area and negotiate with the terrorists.
It also featured Boko Haram’s logo and a distressed teenager surrounded by a large group of boys saying he was one of the 520 students kidnapped by the “gang of Abu Shekau.”
The terror raid on the school on Friday, last week, was first blamed on criminals but later Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the incursion.
In 2014, Boko Haram abducted more than 270 girls from the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok, Borno State. Dozens of the girls never returned to their homes.
Another abduction of 110 schoolgirls was recorded in Dapchi in Yobe State in February 2018 and some of the girls also never returned.
Support Our Journalism
There are millions of ordinary people affected by conflict in Africa whose stories are missing in the mainstream media. HumAngle is determined to tell those challenging and under-reported stories, hoping that the people impacted by these conflicts will find the safety and security they deserve.
To ensure that we continue to provide public service coverage, we have a small favour to ask you. We want you to be part of our journalistic endeavour by contributing a token to us.
Your donation will further promote a robust, free, and independent media.
Donate Here
