Kidnapped Nigerian schoolboys released

Nigeria's governor of Katsina state said 344 schoolboys abducted last Friday by Boko Haram have been handed over to government forces by the terrorist group.

Police members are deployed after gunmen abducted students from the all-boys Government Science school in Kankara, in northwestern Katsina state, Nigeria December 13, 2020. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

Government forces have been engaged in a fight against the insurgent group in the northwestern state following Friday night's kidnapping of the boarding school students.

Their release comes a day after Nigeria said it had rescued 200 of the boys in a forest they were held captive in.

Hours before the hand over a video believed to have been released by Boko Haram surfaced showing the boys crying and pleading for mercy moments after being taken captive.

Supporters of the 'Coalition of Northern Groups' (CNG) rally to urge authorities to rescue hundreds of abducted schoolboys, in Katsina, Nigeria [Kola Sulaimon/AFP]

The boys' abduction sparked countrywide protests under the hashtag #BringBackOurBoys, calling on the government to step up their efforts in retrieving the school children as well as implementing new measures to protect all schools in the West African nation.

The circumstances surrounding their release is unknown. The last time Boko Haram released kidnapped school children was in 2017 when they freed 86 of approximately 276 schoolgirls kidnapped in 2014 in the northeastern town of Chibok.

The Chibok girls' release was part of a deal Boko Haram brokered with the government to set a number of their fighters held captive by the military, free. Till this day, more than 112 of the Chibok girls who remained in captivity are missing.

By: Niza Nondo