More than 300 kidnapped schoolboys are freed, says governor

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — More than 300 schoolboys abducted last week by armed men in northwest Nigeria have been released, the Katsina State governor said Thursday.

Governor Aminu Bello Masari made the announcement on Nigerian state TV, NTA, from his office in Katsina State.

“At the moment 344 of the students have been released and handed over to the security operatives. I think we can say at least we have recovered most of the boys, if not all of them,” he said. Arrangements are being made to transport them to Katsina, he said.

“The news reaching about an hour ago indicates that all of them have been recovered and they are on their way from the forest area to Katsina. By tomorrow we will get them medically examined and then arrangements will be on the way to reunite them with their families,” he added.

More than 800 students were at the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, when it was attacked last week by armed men. Hundreds escaped and it was believed there were more than 330 remaining in captivity.

Cayman Islands jails US college student in coronavirus case

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A U.S. college student and her boyfriend have been sentenced to four months in prison in the Cayman Islands for violating strict COVID-19 measures following a recent ruling that will be appealed, their attorney said Thursday.

Skylar Mack, 18, of Georgia, and Vanjae Ramgeet, 24, of the Cayman Islands, have been in prison since Tuesday, when the ruling was issued. They had both pleaded guilty, but their attorney, Jonathon Hughes, said he will argue for a less severe sentence next week.

“They’re two young people who have never been in trouble before,” he said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “This is the first time they’ve had interaction with police, the courts, prison.”

Mack, who is enrolled as a pre-med student at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, arrived in the Cayman Islands on Nov. 27 and was supposed to undergo a two-week quarantine as mandated by the government, which electronically tracks anyone who arrives in the British Caribbean territory. However, she broke quarantine on Nov. 29 when her boyfriend picked her up to attend a water sports event, Hughes said.