Hundreds of girls released after being kidnapped at gunpoint from school in Nigeria

Gunmen have finally released girls who were kidnapped from a boarding school in Nigeria, the governor said in a tweet on Tuesday.

An armed gang abducted 317 girls from the Government Girls Science Secondary School in the town of Jangebe at around 1am on Friday.

Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle said on Twitter: "Alhamdulillah! It gladdens my heart to announce the release of the abducted students of GGSS Jangebe from captivity.

"This follows the scaling of several hurdles laid against our efforts.

"I enjoin all well-meaning Nigerians to rejoice with us as our daughters are now safe."

Government soldiers were pictured outside the school after the kidnapping

On the day of the kidnapping, a member of staff said that some pupils managed to hide from the 'bandits' as hundreds of gunmen 'invaded' the town in the early hours of the morning.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, they said: "The gunmen in their hundreds invaded the town around 2am on Friday, shot sporadically in the air to scare the residents before coming into the school. 

"After taking away most of the students, we rounded up those that escaped or hid from the bandits and conducted a census where we counted 54 students and we are still searching to see if we can get more."

Locals reportedly tried to resist the 'invasion' however they were outnumbered and outgunned.

Parents reportedly rushed to the school to search for their children after the attack.At the time, Alhaji Abubakar Dauran, the Nigerian commissioner of security and home affairs, told the News Agency of Nigeria: "I can confirm to you now that we have sadly received the report on the abduction of the students of GGSS Jangebe and right now, I am on my way to the school."

It comes after 27 students were kidnapped from a secondary school in Nigeria's Niger state last week.

Terror group Boko Haram made headlines around the world when it kidnapped 276 girls from a secondary school in the Nigerian town of Chibok in 2014.

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Mirror