The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a prison attack in Nigeria’s capital which freed nearly 900 inmates including 60 of its members.

Seven years after Boko Haram extremists abducted more than 270 schoolgirls in northeast Nigeria, two of the more than 100 still being held by the rebels returned this month, renewing the hope of parents who have all but given up on the long wait for the return of their children.

Usman Garuba, one of the freed boys, described the horror of their six days walking through the forest and being beaten. Boko Haram, Nigeria's jihadist rebels, claimed responsibility for the kidnappings, but the government later said the abduction was carried out by bandit groups rampant in the northwest. Nigeria’s military and police forces, with the backing of local self-defense groups, are outgunned, outnumbered, underfunded and underpaid, he said. More than 800 security forces were killed in 2019, one of the deadliest years since Boko Haram’s establishment more than 10 years ago. It is really disturbing.”___AP journalists Lekan Oyekanmi in Katsina, Nigeria, and Sam Olukoya in Lagos, Nigeria, contributed.

A family member of a freed schoolboy cries as she waits for a reunion with her son in Katsina Nigeria Friday Dec. 18, 2020. This time, the government deployed forces quickly after the boys’ kidnapping and the abductors rapidly found themselves surrounded, Bukarti said. Later, Boko Haram made claims that they had penetrated parts of the northwest. Boko Haram may well extend their reach into the northwest, he said, adding that they also got publicity. “This was a major propaganda point and that’s what Boko Haram and terrorist groups survive on,” he said.

Shoes of the kidnapped students from Government Science Secondary School are seen inside their class room Kankara, Nigeria, Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)(AP) – More than 300 schoolboys abducted last week by armed men in northwest Nigeria have been released, a government official said Thursday. For more than 10 years, Boko Haram has engaged in a bloody campaign to introduce strict Islamic rule in Nigeria’s north. The video circulated widely on WhatsApp and first appeared on a Nigerian news site, HumAngle, that often reports on Boko Haram. In April 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped more than 270 schoolgirls from a government boarding school in Chibok in northeastern Borno state.

Anxiety has overwhelmed many parents in Nigeria’s northern Kankara village who await word on their sons who are among the more than 330 kidnapped by extremists from a government boys’ school last week. Nigeria’s Boko Haram jihadist rebels have claimed responsibility for the abduction of the students from the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara. Across Nigeria, people are closely following the fate of the kidnapped boys and many criticize the government for the continuing extremist violence. For more than 10 years, Boko Haram has engaged in a bloody campaign to introduce strict Islamic rule. In February 2014, 59 boys were killed when Boko Haram attacked the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi in Yobe State.

Parents of the missing Government Science secondary school students wait for news on their children in Kankara , Nigeria, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Neither official said whether the negotiations are with Boko Haram or another group. In February 2014, 59 boys were killed during a Boko Haram attack on the Federal Government College Buni Yadi in Yobe State. It was originally believed that the attackers were bandits, who sometimes work with Boko Haram. If Boko Haram is proven to be behind the abduction, it could mean a new wave of religious extremism is on the rise in Nigeria.