Over 300 Nigerian schoolboys were released after being kidnapped in an attack claimed by Boko Haram, officials said, although it was unclear if any more remained with their captors.
The assault last Friday on a rural school in Kankara, Katsina state in northwest Nigeria, was initially blamed on criminals, known as bandits, who have terrorised the region for years.
But later Boko Haram, the brutal jihadist group behind the abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok in 2014, claimed responsibility for the raid.
“344 are now with the security agencies and will be moved to Katsina tonight,” governor Aminu Bello Masari said.
“They will be given proper medical attention and care before being reunited with their families.”
“This is a huge relief to the entire country & international community,” President Muhammadu Buhari said on Twitter.
