137 kidnapped students rescued in Nigeria

Nigerian army rescued 137 kidnapped students. The army gave this information on Sunday.

On March 7, gunmen abducted 287 students in Kuriga town of Kaduna in the northwestern state. The kidnappers demanded 690 thousand US dollars for their release.

Military spokesman Major General Edward Buba said 137 hostages were rescued from neighboring Zamfara early Sunday morning. Among them 78 girls and 61 boys.

“On March 24, the military rescued the hostages through a coordinated search and rescue operation with local authorities and government agencies,” Buba said in a statement.

A security source said the students were earlier freed in a forest and taken to the capital of Kaduna for medical examination before being reunited with their families.

It was not immediately known whether the army clashed with the kidnappers during the rescue operation.