The Defence Headquarters, on Sunday, gave detals of how troops rescued the abducted pupils and teachers of LEA School Kuriga, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State within Zamfara State.

Terrorists had on March 7 invaded LGEA Primary School, Kuriga in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State and abducted over 200 pupils and teachers immediately after the morning assembly session.

A ransom of N1billion was demanded by their abductors for their release, with a deadline of March 27, 2024 for the payment.

In a statement on Sunday morning, Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen. Edward Buba, said the victims were rescued in the early hours of Sunday by the troops with support from local authorities and government agencies.

The defence spokesman put the number of the rescued victims at 137, comprising 76 female and 61 male.

He said the rescued children would be conveyed to Kaduna where they would be handed over to the state government.

The statement read, "It would be recalled that, on March 7, 2024, troops received information that terrorists had invaded LEA School Kuriga in Chikun LG of Kaduna State During the incident, unconfirmed number of pupils were abducted. Following the incident, the military committed to leaving no stone unturned until all the hostages were rescued.

"Accordingly, in the early hours of March 24, 2024, the military, working with local authorities and government agencies across the country, in a coordinated search and rescue operation, rescued the hostages.

The rescue of the Kaduna pupils is coming a day after troops rescued 16 pupils (Almajiris) with a woman taken hostage in Gada LGA of Sokoto State. The troops have handed over the rescued victims to the Sokoto State Government.

Buba said the recent success of the troops was a testament to their resolve to rescue kidnapped victims across the country.

He noted that similar efforts had been put in place to track down those behind the killing of soldiers in Delta State.

He added, "These efforts demonstrate the armed forces' resolve to find other innocent hostages and track down the terrorists that perpetrated these crimes.

These efforts would continue until other hostages are found and the terrorists arrested, tried, and brought to justice by Nigerian law.

"Troops are employing similar efforts to track down the culprits responsible for the killings of 18 soldiers in Okuama Community in Delta State."