Nigeria: 6 Kidnapped Schoolgirls Freed

Six schoolgirls and two staff members who were kidnapped from a secondary school in Nigeria’s Kaduna province have been released.

The students – along with their vice-principal and a matron – were kidnapped on 3 October from their dormitories at Engravers College in Kakau Daji, a village nearly 800 km northwest of Nigeria’s capital, Lagos.

The kidnapping was orchestrated by a group of armed assailants who raided the school. Days afterwards, they demanded the students’ parents pay $140 000 for the release of their daughters.

According to Samuel Aruwan, Internal Security and Home Affairs Commissioner of Kaduna, all eight kidnappees were released last Friday, 25 October. They are reportedly being given medical attention at a local hospital.

It is unclear what led to their release: some reports claim that the families of the kidnapped victims paid the ransom. However, others suggest that Kaduna police officials intercepted the perpetrators and rescued the “unhurt” victims.

Nevertheless, an investigation is currently underway to locate the perpetrators.

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