Nigerian official says over 300 abducted schoolboys freed
Freed Nigerian schoolboys welcomed after week of captivity
Katsina, Dec 18: More than 300 schoolboys kidnapped last week in an attack on their school in northwest Nigeria have arrived in the capital of Katsina state in celebration of their release.
The boys were abducted one week ago from the all-boys Government Science Secondary School in Kankara in Katsina state village.
Nigeria's Boko Haram jihadist rebels claimed responsibility for the abduction, saying they attacked the school because it believes Western education is un-Islamic, factional leader Abubakar Shekau said in a video earlier this week.
More than 800 students were at the school at the time of the attack. Hundreds escaped, but it was believed that more than 330 were abducted by the attackers.
The boys met Friday with Katsina Governor Aminu Bello Masari, who said late Thursday that the kidnappers had released 344 students and turned them over to security officials. The government had said it was negotiating with the attackers. The governor told The Associated Press that no money was paid for the boys' release, though it wasn't clear if other negotiations were made.
The boys will have physical examinations before being reunited with their families, he said.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
