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Several hundred schoolboys abducted in northwestern Nigeria have been freed, according to local officials. The Nigerian military rescued 344 of the kidnapped children Thursday evening, and the boys were received by the Katsina state governor Aminu Bello Masari at the state capital. His spokesman said that Boko Haram was not involved, but that “bandits” pretending to be in the Islamist terror group were responsible a claim that has yet to be verified.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari tweeted that the return of the boys was “a huge relief to the entire country & international community.” He also asked citizens to let the government do its job, as many Nigerians have become more critical about the country’s worsening security problems.
World Nigerian Boys Taken in Kidnapping Claimed by Boko Haram Are Freed
More than 300 schoolboys kidnapped in northern Nigeria have been handed over to security agencies, says Katsina governor More than 300 schoolboys were received by government officials in Nigeria after being released by their captors. Jihadist group Boko Haram had claimed responsibility for kidnapping them a week ago. Photo: Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition
By Updated Dec. 17, 2020 8:07 pm ET
More than 300 schoolboys kidnapped by gunmen from their boarding school in northwest Nigeria last week were handed over to security agencies late Thursday, Nigeria’s government said, prompting outpourings of relief and joy across Africa’s most populous nation after fears they would become long-term hostages of jihadist militants.
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has finally issued a statement congratulating Joe Biden on winning the United States presidential election, after that country’s Electoral College officially confirmed his victory on Monday. Brazil’s government has told the country’s Federal Supreme Court that a country-wide vaccination program will begin five days after the National Health Surveillance Agency approves any vaccine against the novel coronavirus. Meanwhile, a study conducted by Brazil’s National Restaurant Association has indicated that four out of every ten restaurants and bars in the country have been forced to close their activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A report published by British newspaper The Guardian is accusing China of actively using cell phone companies in the Caribbean to spy on American citizens, in a scheme that has been going on for several years. Finally, a man who claimed to be the leader of Nigeria’s main Islamist terrorist group, Boko Haram, h
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He also disclosed that the abductors took 520 students from the school.
The 17-year-old, who managed to escape from the gunmen, told the BBC Hausa how he ran away from the bandits after he and other students were ferried into the bush.
The father of the boy, however, did not want his son’s name mentioned for obvious reasons.
“It was on Friday night around 9:30pm after we came back from our classes for night reading when we heard gunshots. Initially, we thought it was not in our school but later we began to see them coming towards us.
“What has happened again?”
“What has not happened? The other week, we were all lamenting that 43 farmers were slaughtered in Zabarmari, in Borno State, and now the whole world is being told that hundreds of school boys have been kidnapped from their school – a Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Katsina State.”
“And you are surprised?”
“What do you mean I am surprised? I am not surprised. I am shocked and angry.”
“But when Northern Governors, traditional rulers and the Sultan of Sokoto warned that the situation in the North had become very desperate and dangerous, what was the response from those whose job it is to ensure the safety of lives and property?”