The freed schoolgirls were taken to a government building in Zamfara state in a fleet of minibuses
Girls among the nearly 300 who were kidnapped from a school
in north-western Nigeria have been describing their ordeal following their
release.
"Most of us got injured," one of the schoolgirls
told the media, adding that gunmen threatened to shoot them.
The girls were abducted by unidentified assailants from
their boarding school in Jangebe, Zamfara state, on Friday and taken to a
forest, police said.
The state's governor said on Tuesday that the 279 girls had
been freed.
Such kidnappings are carried out for ransom and are common
in the north of the country.
On Tuesday, dozens of the girls were seen gathered at a
government building in Zamfara after they were taken there in a fleet of
mini-buses.
Speaking to the media, one of the schoolgirls said that some of
those kidnapped had found it difficult to continue walking when instructed to
do so by the gunmen because of their injuries.
"They said they [would] shoot anybody who did not
continue to walk," she said. "We walked across a river and they hid
us and let us sleep under shrubs in a forest."
Another of the girls, aged 15, said that some of her
classmates found it difficult "walking in the stones and thorns" and
had to be carried.
"They started hitting us with guns so that we [would]
move," she told Reuters news agency, adding: "While they were beating
them with guns, some of them were crying and moving at the same time."
The girls were reportedly made to walk a long distance into the forest after their kidnapping
Some of the fathers who had arrived to see their daughters
for the first time since their abduction told reporters they were "very
happy" at the news of their release.
The group's release was secured through negotiations between
government officials and the abductors, authorities in Zamfara state told the media.
One official told Reuters that the discrepancy was because
of the fact that some girls had fled shortly after being abducted.
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari said he felt
"overwhelming joy" at the news of the girls' release. "[I am]
pleased that their ordeal has come to a happy end without any incident,"
he said.
The governor of Zamfara state, Bello Matawalle, tweeted that
it "gladdens
my heart to announce the release of the abducted students".
"This follows the scaling of several hurdles laid
against our efforts," he added. "I enjoin all well-meaning Nigerians
to rejoice with us as our daughters are now safe."
Mr Matawalle has denied paying for the girls to be released,
but last week President Buhari admitted state governments had paid kidnappers
"with money and vehicles" in the past and urged them to review the
policy.
Analysis: Nigeria's ransom controversy
It is believed that schools have started to be targeted as
such abductions attract a lot of attention - putting more pressure on the
authorities to negotiate with the armed criminal group responsible.
The authorities rarely admit to paying ransoms - but some
observers say it is unlikely that the gunmen would release their victims
without some sort of exchange, either of money or the release of their members
who are in jail.
Besides, kidnapping for ransom is a widespread criminal
enterprise across the country - people are seized by gunmen on almost a daily
basis - with both the rich and the poor falling victims. Security personnel
have been held too. People often speak of how they have managed to secure
someone's release by raising funds from friends and relatives - or even selling
their assets.
But ransom payments are controversial. It may save someone's
life, yet some observers say paying ransom only fuels the problem. President
Buhari agrees, saying today ''ransom payments will continue to prosper
kidnapping''.
He has repeatedly said his government will not negotiate
with the armed criminal gangs. But many believe the failure of his
administration and those at the state level to provide security is to blame.
There are growing calls for the authorities to provide security for thousands
of schools across the country - many of which are unfenced and do not have
adequate security guards.
The 2014 kidnap of 276 schoolgirls in the north-eastern town
of Chibok by Islamist militants Boko Haram brought global attention to the
scourge of raids on schools in Nigeria, but a surge in recent attacks is
suspected to be the work of criminal gangs.
The raid in Zamfara state was the region's second kidnapping
in recent weeks. Some 27 students were kidnapped from a boarding school in
Kagara in the north-central state of Niger last month before they were released
on 17 February.
No group has said they were behind the Zamfara kidnappings.
Armed groups operating in the state often kidnap for ransom
but when gunmen
took more than 300 boys from Kankara in neighbouring Katsina state in
December last year, some reports said Boko Haram, which operates hundreds of
miles away in the north-east, was behind the attack.
The reports were later disputed and the boys released after
negotiations.
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