Katsina abducted schoolboys released | EduCeleb
EduCeleb
17th December 2020
Hundreds of the abducted students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State have been released Thursday evening.
The Boko Haram faction loyal to Abubakar Shekau, which claimed responsibility for the abduction, earlier released a video of the students on Thursday afternoon.
The students, seen in the bush, called on the federal government not to use force to rescue them.
A video of the some of children seen by EduCeleb.com claims that the children were in Tsafe, Zamfara State and on their way back to neighbouring Katsina state where the kidnap occured last Friday.
Sources said the schoolboys were released today after “rigorous” negotiation between governments at the national and state levels on one hand and the abductors with the help of unnamed private negotiator.
“The boys, in company of security operatives, negotiators and other stakeholders, are on their way to Katsina from the point of exchange,” one of the sources said.
It is not immediately clear if ransom was paid to secure the release of the boys.
There were conflicting figures in respect of the actual number of students taken away.
Governor Masari had put the number at 333 while the school register showed over 500 were missing.
Earlier, some of the students initially abducted had earlier escaped.