In Nigeria, hundreds of schoolgirls have been released after they were kidnapped at gunpoint from their boarding school in the northwest Zamfara State, according to local authorities. The girls were abducted on Friday when armed men raided the state-run school housing the girls. A spokesman for the regional governor Bello Matawalle stated that all 279 girls are accounted for and have been safely returned.
According to media reports, the girls returned on Tuesday morning at the Zamfara government’s statehouse, dressed in identical pastel hijabs and in good condition. Few were given medical treatment due to foot wounds. The girls stated that they were forced to walk long distances, crossing a river, and sleeping under shrubs in a forest. Kidnapping for ransom has been common in the region. Last month, a similar event occurred when 42 people were abducted from a different state-run school. This case is the latest in a string of similar cases occurring in Nigeria.
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