30 Kidnapped Nigerian Students Released: Govt

Abuja, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Oct, 2021 ) :Thirty students who were kidnapped by a criminal gang more than four months ago in northwest Nigeria have been released, the local government said Thursday.

Since December, more than 1,000 students have been snatched in the country by heavily armed gunmen known locally as bandits.

"Today... thirty (30) students of the Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri have arrived Birnin Kebbi, the Kebbi State capital following their release," local government spokesman Yahaya Sarki said in a statement.

It was unclear if a ransom was paid.

Gunmen attacked the Federal Government College in Kebbi on June 17.

Police said at the time that the gunmen killed one security officer and injured a student, but declined to say how many were kidnapped.

"Efforts are still continuing to secure the release of the remaining (students)," Sarki said.

According to local residents, the attackers shot and injured five people, including four students.

They also ransacked the hostels and vandalised student personal effects.

Most students kidnapped in Nigeria are freed after weeks or sometimes months in captivity.

The country's bandits have long targeted central and northwestern states, raiding villages, stealing cattle and kidnapping for ransom.

But they have increasingly targeted schools, snatching students or schoolchildren and herding them into forest hideouts to negotiate ransom payments.