Nigerian media reported the liberation of 75 students kidnapped by gunmen in the north of the country after storming their school about two weeks ago.

Seventy-five Kaya public secondary school students from Zamfara District in Maradun State were kidnapped around two weeks ago and had regained their freedom, reported Nigerian state TV.

The report did not disclose any specifics on how the kids were released. However, the Governor of Zamfara, Bello Matawalle, said he would not award a pardon to the gunmen because they did not respect the peace initiative discussed with them previously, moreover the authorities would work to expel them from the state.

"An increasing number of children are being killed and recruited by armed groups in Niger, especially in the border areas with Burkina Faso and Mali, where armed groups have doubled their attacks in recent months," Amnesty International reported today. 

Today Monday,  Amnesty International released a 57-page report on the growing consequences of the conflict for children in the Tillaberi region. The tri-border area witnesses frequent attacks by ISIS in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and the al-Qaida-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).

Many attacks also target schools, according to Amnesty, which indicates that more than 31,000 children have dropped out of school - an increase of 10,000 children from last year.