Hundreds of schoolgirls welcomed after kidnapping release

279 girls, who were kidnapped from school, have been freed. Armed men raided the boarding school in Jangebe, in Northern Nigeria and abducted the girls on February 26. Following their release the girls attended a welcome ceremony in Gusau. Schools have long been targeted for mass kidnappings by criminal groups in northern Nigeria. This was the second mass kidnapping in less than ten days. 27 boys and their teachers were abducted from their school in Kagara on February 17. President Muhammadu Buhari has urged state governors to review their ransom policies, saying ‘rewarding bandits with money’ could ‘backfire with disastrous consequences’.