279 Kidnapped Schoolgirls Freed

More than 300 were taken last week from boarding school
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 2, 2021 12:00 AM CST
279 Kidnapped Schoolgirls Freed in Nigeria
Belongings of more than 300 girls who were abducted by gunmen on Friday from the Government Girls Secondary School, are seen in Jangebe town, Zamfara state, northern Nigeria, Monday, March. 1, 2021. Families in Nigeria waited anxiously on Monday for news of their abducted daughters, the latest in a...   (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls abducted last week from a boarding school in the northwestern Zamfara state have been released, the state’s governor said Tuesday. Zamfara state governor Bello Matawalle announced that 279 girls have been freed, the AP reports. Gunmen abducted the girls from the Government Girls Junior Secondary School in Jangebe town on Friday, in the latest in a series of mass kidnappings of students in the West African nation.

An AP reporter saw hundreds of girls dressed in light blue hijabs sitting at the state Government House office in Gusau. “Alhamdulillah! (God be praised!) It gladdens my heart to announce the release of the abducted students of GGSS Jangebe from captivity. This follows the scaling of several hurdles laid against our efforts. I enjoin all well-meaning Nigerians to rejoice with us as our daughters are now safe,” Matawalle said in a post on Twitter early Tuesday. (42 of the more than 300 who were kidnapped had previously been freed.)

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