More Nigerian students freed amid ransom questions
Unclear how much was paid to bandits to secure release of children
MINNA, NIGERIA—Overjoyed parents welcomed home 90 young schoolchildren who had spent three months held by gunmen in northern Nigeria, though authorities confirmed Friday that one of the kidnapped children had died during the ordeal.
Meanwhile, elsewhere police announced that a second group of 15 students taken earlier this month also were freed, raising hopes across the country’s north that other child hostages could eventually be delivered.
“The happiness can’t be quantified,” said Yahya Aliyu Babangida, 54, a teacher whose two children aged seven and 17 were among those released.
Some of the abducted pupils in Niger state were just four years old, he said. Several were undergoing medical treatment after their release late Thursday.
“They are exposed to this harsh weather, no food, mosquitos everywhere,” he said. “Some of them had never been outside the comfort of their homes.”
News of the children’s release was celebrated across Nigeria, where more than 1,000 students have been kidnapped from schools since December. Most are eventually freed though about 200 remain missing.
The abductions have stepped up pressure on the Nigerian government to do more to secure educational facilities in remote areas.
But questions remained Friday about how much ransom had been paid to secure the children’s release, and if so whether that could in turn fuel further abductions.
Muhammad Musa Kawule, 42, acknowledged paying intermediaries in hopes of securing his six-year-old daughter’s freedom.
“I spent a lot of money but today, I’m happy,” he told The Associated Press on Friday. He did not specify how much he had paid nor whether government officials had been involved.
Gunmen on motorcycles had attacked the Salihu Tanko Islamic School in Tegina in late May.
Authorities initially said that 136 students had been taken but revised that figure to 91, including the child that died in captivity.
Also Friday, Zamfara state police spokesman Mohammed Shehu said that 15 other students had been handed over to officials on Friday, 11 days after they were abducted from the College of Agriculture and Animal Science in Nigeria’s troubled northwest.