The Nigerian army has rescued 17 students and a woman who were kidnapped in a dawn raid by gunmen two weeks ago in the country’s northwestern state of Sokoto, the Nigerian military said. governor of the state.
The attack on the Tsangaya school on March 9 came two days after the mass kidnapping of schoolchildren in Kaduna, also in the north of the country. These students are still missing.
Sokoto Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto said the Tsangaya students were released on Friday after an operation coordinated by the military and the office of the national security adviser.
“All the children were found in good health and are ready to be reunited with their parents,” he said, without giving details of the rescue operation.
The owner of the school, Liman Abubakar Bakuso, said he was traveling to the capital Sokoto to bring back the students.
“No ransom was paid because I was not contacted and the parents of the children were not contacted as well about anything related to the payment of the ransom,” Bakuso told Reuters.
Kidnappings by criminal gangs with no ideological affiliation and demanding ransoms have become an almost daily phenomenon, particularly in northern Nigeria, tearing apart families and communities who must pool their savings to pay the ransoms, often forcing them to sell land, livestock and cereals to secure their income. release of loved ones.