Atiku Abubakar delighted over release of abducted schoolboys

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has expressed happiness over the release of kidnapped students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State.

The Wazirin Adamawa, in a thread of tweets on his twitter handle @Atiku, said: “I am happy about reports that abducted schoolboys of GSSS Kankara, Katsina State have been rescued. As a father, I know how much joy it will bring to the traumatised parents who have practically kept vigil in the school premises.

“I congratulate all those who were involved in the rescue operation.

“Security must be stepped up around schools in the vulnerable areas in the insurgency prone region.”

Hundreds of the abducted students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State were released on Thursday, credible government sources told Daily Trust.

The state Governor Aminu Bello Masari told journalists that 344 boys have been freed.

However, the school register showed over 500 were missing.

“The boys, in company of security operatives, negotiators and other stakeholders, are on their way to Katsina from the point of exchange,” one of the sources added.

Multiple sources in Katsina and Abuja said the schoolboys were released today after “rigorous” negotiation between governments at the national and state levels on one hand and the abductors on the other side.

It is not clear if ransom was paid to secure the release of the boys.

The Boko Haram faction loyal to Abubakar Shekau, which claimed responsibility for the abduction, released a video of the students on Thursday afternoon.

The students, seen in the bush, called on the federal government not to use force to rescue them.

The students were taken away from their hostels on Friday, December 11. Few of them had earlier escaped.