Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello, on Saturday met with the freed abductees from Government Science Secondary School, Kagara.

The abductees – comprising of students, staff and staff relatives – regained their freedom earlier at 4 am on Saturday, the Governor said.

According to Bello, one of the victims is in hospital “suffering from excessive exhaustion.”

Bello did not comment on whether a ransom was paid for the victims’ release but he said it was a joint effort by security agencies, traditional rulers and other “major stakeholders.”

He added that the victims have been medically checked and will continue to be monitored for the next few days.

“They have been through tremendous torture,” he said. “We are carefully watching their health and condition and hopefully they should be reunited soon with their families.”

The Governor said his administration is working on a way to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

“Yes, we have rescued them but we still have a lot of work ahead of us,” he said. “Going forward, we are putting a system in place to look at the causes of these events.

“In the next few days, in the course of my conversation with major stakeholders, I hope we will find a solution to this dastardly act.”