All 279 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped from their boarding school in the north-western state of Zamfara last week have been released and are on government premises, the governor of the state has said, writes The Guardian.

“It gladdens my heart to announce the release of the abducted students of GGSS Jangebe from captivity. Our daughters are now safe”, - Bello Matawalle tweeted.

Hundreds of girls wearing hijabs were seen at the government premises, waiting to be reunited with their families.

Authorities initially said 317 girls were abducted in the raid by hundreds of gunmen on the Government Girls secondary school in the remote Jangebe village on Friday. But Matawalle said the total number of female students abducted was 279.