MINNA: Nigerians on Monday got their first look at 130 children and teachers released after being seized in one of the largest mass abductions in the country's history.
Some of the children appeared to be malnourished or in shock as they arrived at a government ceremony. Police said they were freed Sunday, a month after gunmen stormed their Catholic school in Niger state’s Papiri community in a predawn attack.
Authorities said plans were underway to reunite the children with their families before Christmas.
Authorities earlier said 303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers were seized and 50 of them escaped in the hours that followed. But on Monday, Niger state Gov. Mohammed Bago indicated that 230 had been taken and all had now been released.
School kidnappings have come to define insecurity in Africa’s most populous country.
Officials did not say whether a ransom — common in such abductions — had been paid. No group has claimed responsibility, but residents blamed armed gangs that target schools and travelers in kidnappings for ransom across Nigeria’s conflict-battered north.
Most of those seized in the attack were aged between 10 and 17, the school said. One of the children released earlier told The Associated Press that gunmen threatened to shoot them during the attack.
Maj. Gen. Adamu Garba Laka, national coordinator at Nigeria’s Center for Counter Terrorism, told Monday's event that Nigeria will work with community leaders to boost safety in high-risk areas.
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Nigerians welcome 130 schoolchildren and teachers released after mass abduction
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Nigerians welcome 130 schoolchildren and teachers released after mass abduction
- Authorities said plans were underway to reunite the children with their families before Christmas
Sweden intercepts suspected Russian drone during visit by French aircraft carrier
- Swedish naval ship observed the suspected drone during a patrol in the Oresund
- Kremlin says ‘absurd’ to suggest drone jammed near French aircraft carrier is Russian
STOCKHOLM: The Swedish military has intercepted a suspected Russian drone off the south of the country as a French aircraft carrier was docked in the port of Malmo, officials say.
Kremlin said it was ‘absurd’ to suggest drone jammed near French aircraft carrier was Russian.
The armed forces said on Thursday that a Swedish naval ship observed the suspected drone during a patrol in the Oresund, the strait that divides Sweden from Denmark.
They said that unspecified countermeasures were taken to disrupt the drone, and that contact with the drone was then lost.
The French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is in the southern Swedish city of Malmo this week as part of regular NATO exercise activities. Malmo is located on the Oresund, opposite the Danish capital of Copenhagen.
French military spokesperson Guillaume Vernet said that the drone was detected on Wednesday and handled by Swedish forces integrated into a security system around the carrier. He said Friday that the drone was more than 10 kilometers from the Charles de Gaulle.
“This system showed it is robust, and this event had no impact on the activity of the aircraft carrier battle group,” Vernet said.
Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson told public broadcaster SVT Thursday evening that the suspected violation of Swedish airspace by a drone happened in connection with a Russian military ship being in Swedish territorial waters. Asked what country he thinks the drone belongs to, he replied: “Probably Russia.”
The Russian ship continued into the Baltic Sea, and Swedish authorities have been in close contact with Denmark about the incident, Jonson said. The armed forces said no further drones were observed.
Western officials say Russia is masterminding a campaign of sabotage and disruption across Europe. An Associated Press database has documented well over 100 incidents.
Not all incidents are public and it can sometimes take officials months to establish a link to Moscow. While officials say the campaign — waged since President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — aims to deprive Kyiv of support, they believe Moscow is also trying to identify Europe’s weak spots and suck up law enforcement resources.
Kremlin said it was ‘absurd’ to suggest drone jammed near French aircraft carrier was Russian.
The armed forces said on Thursday that a Swedish naval ship observed the suspected drone during a patrol in the Oresund, the strait that divides Sweden from Denmark.
They said that unspecified countermeasures were taken to disrupt the drone, and that contact with the drone was then lost.
The French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is in the southern Swedish city of Malmo this week as part of regular NATO exercise activities. Malmo is located on the Oresund, opposite the Danish capital of Copenhagen.
French military spokesperson Guillaume Vernet said that the drone was detected on Wednesday and handled by Swedish forces integrated into a security system around the carrier. He said Friday that the drone was more than 10 kilometers from the Charles de Gaulle.
“This system showed it is robust, and this event had no impact on the activity of the aircraft carrier battle group,” Vernet said.
Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson told public broadcaster SVT Thursday evening that the suspected violation of Swedish airspace by a drone happened in connection with a Russian military ship being in Swedish territorial waters. Asked what country he thinks the drone belongs to, he replied: “Probably Russia.”
The Russian ship continued into the Baltic Sea, and Swedish authorities have been in close contact with Denmark about the incident, Jonson said. The armed forces said no further drones were observed.
Western officials say Russia is masterminding a campaign of sabotage and disruption across Europe. An Associated Press database has documented well over 100 incidents.
Not all incidents are public and it can sometimes take officials months to establish a link to Moscow. While officials say the campaign — waged since President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — aims to deprive Kyiv of support, they believe Moscow is also trying to identify Europe’s weak spots and suck up law enforcement resources.
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