August 27, (THEWILL) –Â Over 100 abducted pupils of the Salihu Tanko Islamiyya School, Tegina in the Rafi Local Government Area of Niger state released on Thursday night, have arrived in Minna, the Niger State capital.
THEWILL reports that the pupils were freed after three months in the den of bandits and arrived at the Niger State Government House this afternoon.
Upon arrival, they were greeted by their parents and government officials, all cheerful for their safety.
A source told THEWILL that the pupils, who arrived at about 1am on Friday, were first taken to hospital in Minna for medical attention.
“Many of them are sick, we have taken them to the hospital but not the Minna General hospital. They are complete, they will be received at 12noon today (Friday) by the Governor,” the source added.
The gunmen had abducted the students from their school in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State on May 30.
A few days later, they demanded a ransom of ₦110 million and threatened to kill the victims but 11 of them were released hours later, according to the Niger State Government.
However, there is no detail yet on how the pupils were finally released or if any ransom was paid.
Niger State’s Governor Sani Bello had earlier ruled out the option of paying a ransom to the abductors.
“Even though we have ruled out payment of ransom, it is time for the government to take decisive measures towards ending the bandits’ activities that are forcefully changing the lives of the people, especially in the rural areas,” he said then, in one of the meetings with the parents of the abductees.
