Nigeria: 130 School Children Freed

More than 130 school children kidnapped by gunmen in northwestern Nigeria earlier this month were released unharmed, officials and the army said.

The mass abduction in Kuriga, Kaduna state on March 7 was one of the biggest attacks on a school in years and sparked a national outcry over insecurity.

The army said the hostages were freed in the early hours during a rescue operation but did not provide details.

Spokesman Major General Edward Buba shared photos of children wearing dust-covered uniforms in buses.

"The rescued hostages totalling 137 comprise 76 females and 61 males. They were rescued in Zamfara state and would be conveyed and handed over to the Kaduna state government for further action," he said.

He said no troops had been wounded but did not comment further, citing what he called the "ongoing operation".

Teachers and residents previously said around 280 pupils between the ages of eight and 15 were kidnapped when armed criminals, known in Nigeria as bandits, stormed the school on motorbikes.

Discrepancies between the number of people kidnapped and released are common in Nigeria due to unclear early reports and the return of those who go missing while fleeing attacks.

But it was not clear why there was such a large difference between the figures this time.

Bandit gangs routinely attack communities, loot villages and carry out mass kidnappings for ransom in northwest and north-central Nigeria.

The gangs have targeted schools and colleges in the past, but there had been a lull in these attacks before the Kuriga abductions.

Nigeria has recently been hit by a wave of mass abductions and many victims across the country are still missing.

Hostage-taking has spiraled into a nationwide industry and some experts believe the country's economic crisis is now driving a rise in kidnappings as desperate Nigerians turn to crime for income.