The authorities and the principal of their school confirm that the 344 high school students in Kankara all returned healthy and sound, after negotiations with their prisoners. This kidnapping was claimed twice by the Boko Haram group, but was carried out by criminal groups in the region. We also know a little more thanks to the testimonies of the children who were reunited with their families on Friday night.
as reported from Lagos, Liza Fabbian
The reunion continued until late in the evening between parents and their children just released after six trying days.
At this time, it appears that all school children abducted from the Kankara boarding school have returned unharmed, although the exact number of hostages has been discussed in recent days.
In fact, the authorities in the northwest quickly stated the figure of 340 young people captured – as many were released according to them. But Boko Haram came to sow doubt and claimed a higher number of hostages: 520 according to the two messages spread by the group.
It is possible that the figures were inflated by Boko Haram. No other message has been released since the children’s release – negotiated directly with the armed groups holding them.
The idea of an ideological link must therefore be qualified, although it is obvious that the “bandits” have actively collaborated with the terrorist organization, in order to serve propaganda for Abubakar Shekau far from his stronghold in the northeast.
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