ABUJA, 28 August 2021, (TON):  Nearly 100 Nigerian schoolchildren kidnapped from an Islamic seminary three months ago were reunited with their parents after their gunmen captors freed them from forest hideouts.

The May 30 Tegina seminary abduction in northwest Niger State was one of the longest-running mass kidnappings at a Nigerian school since December when criminal gangs began to target students and pupils.

Dressed in fresh blue headscarves and tunics, the male and female students, some younger than 10 years old, were met by the local governor in Niger State before being reunited with their families.

One father Fasilat Jimoh Danjuma said "I have a child and I am very happy. I give God all the glory," "Thank God they are back hale and healthy and we are happy."

Head teacher Abubakar Alhassan said 92 children from the seminary were freed along with two Christian students who had been taken from a nearby village.

He said “one of the Tegina children had died in captivity.”

Officials gave no details about how the children were freed, but parents said during the captivity they had sold houses and belongings to come up with ransom money.