According to the Defence Headquarters, troops were able to free the teachers and students who had been kidnapped from LEA School Kuriga in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna, Zamfara State, on Sunday.

About 287 pupils as well as instructors were kidnapped by alleged terrorists on March 7, 2024, and taken into the bush.

After that, their kidnappers demanded N1 billion as ransom, with a deadline of March 27, 2024, for the payment.

However, in a statement, Maj Gen. Edward Buba, Director of Defence Media Operations, alleged that the victims had been saved by the military in the wee hours of Sunday morning with assistance from regional authorities and federal agencies.

Buba reported that 137 victims had been rescued, of which 76 were women and 61 were men. He also said that the victims will be transported to Kaduna and given to the state administration there.

“Recall that on March 7, 2024, troops received information that terrorists had invaded LEA School Kuriga in Chikun LG of Kaduna State,” the statement read. Unknown numbers of students were reported missing during the incident. The military vowed after the event to keep searching until all of the hostages were freed.

As a result, the hostages were freed in the early hours of March 24, 2024, thanks to a concerted search and rescue effort by the military, local authorities, and federal agencies nationwide.

“The hostages are the same people that were kidnapped from Kuriga School in Kaduna State’s Chikun Local Government Area.

“The hostages, comprising 61 men and 76 women, were freed in Zamfara State and will be transferred to the Kaduna State Government for additional measures.”

The students from Kaduna are being released one day after 16 students (Almajiris) and a woman who was held captive in Gada LGA, Sokoto State, were freed by the military.

The Sokoto State Government has received the rescued victims from the troops.

Buba said that the military’ recent achievements demonstrated their determination to free kidnapped individuals all throughout the nation.

Similar initiatives have been implemented, according to Buba, to find the people responsible for the deaths of soldiers in Delta State.

He went on, “These initiatives show the military forces’ determination to locate further innocent hostages and apprehend the terrorists responsible for these crimes.

“These actions would not stop until more hostages were located and the terrorists were apprehended, prosecuted, and brought to justice in accordance with Nigerian law.

“Troops are using comparable methods to find the individuals who killed eighteen soldiers in Okuama Community, Delta State.”