Gunmen released dozens of kidnapped students in early September in Zamfara state, northwest Nigeria, according to a local government source and a video showing officials with the children viewed by the AFP.
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The release of the students of the Kaya school came on Sunday, September 12, after the outbreak of military operations against criminal gangs in that state and the authorities cut off telecommunications to prevent them from exchanging information.
More than 70 students and teachers were kidnapped in Kaya on September 1, the latest episode in a series of mass kidnappings in schools and colleges perpetrated since the beginning of the year by heavily armed, skilled men. locally of "
bandits
".
"
A total of 75 hostages from Kaya public high school were released on Sunday evening,
" the local government source told AFP.
"
They appeared to be in good shape and unharmed
."
1000 kidnapped in 2021
A video released by the office of Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle shows him waving to buses full of students after dark.
According to security sources, they were released by their captors in exchange for the promise to let them pass out of the forest where they had entrenched themselves, the army having surrounded their camp.
Criminal gangs have long been rampant in the northwestern and central states of Nigeria, carrying out violent raids to loot villages, steal livestock and kidnap residents for ransoms.
In recent times, they have attacked schools and schools in particular.
More than 1,000 students have been kidnapped this year in a series of attacks.
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Most of these students were released after negotiations and some escaped, but dozens are still in the hands of their captors.