Zamfara

Authorities in Nigeria's Zamfara state have declared a curfew and closed markets after violence joked hundreds of abducted schoolgirls to their families, a state spokesman said on Thursday. Late on Wednesday, shots and chaos erupted during what should have been the happy return of 279 schoolgirls abducted by armed men from their boarding school last week. The government secured the release of the girls on Tuesday, but they had undergone medical check-ups and treatment. At least three people were shot,…

Nearly 300 girls, who were abducted from a boarding school in the northwestern Nigerian state of Zamfara on Friday, have been released by gunmen, the governor said in a tweet on Tuesday. An armed gang had abducted the girls from the GGSS school (Government Girls Science Secondary) in the city of Jangebe. A rescue operation was underway to get the girls back to safety. A teacher at GGSS, who asked to remain anonymous, had said that the attack occurred around 1 o'clock (12 GMT) but did not provide…

Security forces continue to search for 317 girls who were abducted on Friday, just a day before an armed gang released 27 teenage boys who had been abducted from their school in the northern state of Niger last week. Schools have become the target of mass kidnappings of rapists in northern Nigeria by armed groups, many of whom carry weapons and bicycles. On February 17, gunmen killed a boy and kidnapped 42 people - 27 students, three employees and 12 members of their families - in an attack on the…