More abducted Nigerian students have been released, police say

YENAGOA, Nigeria, Dec 21 - More Nigerian children abducted last month from a Catholic school in Niger state have been released, state police said on Sunday, following one of the country's biggest mass kidnappings of recent years.

"I can confirm that they have been released, but we will only do the head count tomorrow to ascertain the number of those released," Wasiu Abiodun, Niger state police command told Reuters.

It was also not immediately clear how the pupils were freed.

Earlier on Sunday, ARISE news channel quoted Nigerian officials as saying that 130 pupils had been released.

"Authorities say the successful release of all the victims followed sustained security pressure and coordinated efforts, as calls intensify for stronger protection of schools and decisive action to prevent a repeat of such attacks," ARISE said.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has previously said that gunmen seized more than 300 pupils and 12 staff from St Mary's Catholic School in Papiri village on November 21.

Fifty of the children managed to escape, CAN said, while Nigeria's government said on December 8 that it had managed to rescue 100 of those abducted.

The abduction caused outrage over worsening insecurity in northern Nigeria, where armed gangs frequently target schools for ransom. School kidnappings surged after Boko Haram militants abducted 276 girls from Chibok in 2014. REUTERS