News Center- More than 130 schoolchildren were abducted  in the north-western town of Kuriga by motorcycle-riding gunmen on March 7. On Sunday, Kaduna Governor Uba Sani announced that more than 130 schoolchildren were rescued. “All of them have come back home safely,” the governor said.

School officials and residents had said 287 students were abducted on March 7 in the town of Kuriga in the northwestern state of Kaduna. However, Kaduna Governor Uba Sani told local media late Sunday that only 137 young people had been abducted during the attack.

The abducted people were rescued just days before a deadline to pay a 1 billion naira ($690,000) ransom for their release, Premium Times, a Nigerian online newspaper, reported on Sunday. 

In recent years, abductions have been concentrated in Nigeria’s northwestern and central regions. Dozens of armed groups often target villagers and travelers for ransom.