Nigeria: release of high school girls kidnapped at the end of February in Zamfara state
High school girls kidnapped in Jangebe when they were released on March 2, 2021, in Nigeria.
REUTERS - AFOLABI SOTUNDE
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
In Nigeria, the young girls who had been captured last Friday in their boarding school in Jangebe, located in the state of Zamfara, were released this Tuesday morning at dawn.
They number 279, according to local authorities who spoke at the beginning of 317 captives.
The high school girls were received by the local governor before dawn.
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With our correspondent in Lagos
,
Liza Fabbian
The ceremony which took place this Tuesday morning in the premises of the Zamfara government resembled in every way the one which followed the release of the young people of Kankara in December
or the high school students of Kagara
last Saturday.
Governor Bello Mattawale received
the ex-hostages
with great fanfare and hailed their release in an official speech, but once again nothing is known about the conditions of their release.
Like his counterparts in Niger and Katsina states before him, the governor of Zamfara ensures that no ransom has been paid to the kidnappers of high school girls - even if it is doubtful.
President Muhammadu Buhari has himself raised the subject several times in recent days.
And this morning, the Head of State said he was "
filled with joy
" at the announcement of the release of the schoolgirls.
He also recalled that "
the ransom payment will continue to make the kidnapping prosper
."
This weekend, the head of state had half-heartedly criticized the rewards granted to heads of criminal groups in the region when they agree to surrender.
These opaque amnesty agreements may have recently fueled rivalry between the many local gangs.
This would be a possible explanation
for the increase in kidnappings
in recent times in northwestern Nigeria.
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Nigeria
Kidnappings
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