Friday Dec 18, 2020 at 4:45 AM Dec 18, 2020 at 8:28 PM
KATSINA, Nigeria (AP) Bleary, barefoot, apparently numbed by a week of captivity, more than 300 Nigerian schoolboys, freed after being kidnapped in an attack on their school, were welcomed by the governor of Katsina state and Nigeria s president on Friday.
Reunions with their parents began late in the day. Since this incident happened I have not been able to sleep, but now I can sleep, said Salisu Kankara, a parent of one of the schoolboys who was released.
The relatively quick release of the more than 330 boys took place after a prompt response by the government, which appears to have learned from earlier mass school abductions, especially of the Chibok schoolgirls, that did not have such a happy result.
UN chief commends swift action by Nigerian authorities as more than 300 boys are reunited with their families | un.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from un.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
KATSINA, Nigeria (AP) Bleary, barefoot, apparently numbed by a week of captivity, more than 300 Nigerian schoolboys, freed after being kidnapped in an attack on their school, were welcomed by the governor of Katsina state Friday.
Reunions that are more celebratory and emotional likely will come when the boys are finally reunited with their families, after being examined for any injuries.
The relatively quick release of the more than 330 boys took place after a prompt response by the government, which appears to have learned from earlier mass school abductions, especially of the Chibok schoolgirls, that did not have such a happy result.
Hundreds of schoolboys who were kidnapped in northwestern Nigeria nearly a week ago have been released, a local official said late on Thursday, prompting joy and relief for families that had been praying for the boys’ safe return.
Katsina state Governor Aminu Bello Masari said in a televised interview with state channel NTA that 344 boys held in the Rugu Forest in neighbouring Zamfara state had been freed.
“I think we have recovered most of the boys,” he said.
Al Jazeera has been unable to independently verify the figure and it was not immediately clear if all the boys who were kidnapped had been released.
Abducted Nigerian schoolboys freed thanks to quick response antigojournal.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from antigojournal.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.