The last 89 Christians held captive since criminal gangs attacked three churches in northern Nigeria in mid-January were released on Thursday, according to local officials and an Agence France-Presse journalist.
The worshippers, dressed in yellow, arrived on a bus escorted by security forces and were received by the governor of Kaduna state, Uba Sani, who said 183 people were initially abducted.
They were snatched from three churches during Sunday services on January 18 in the latest in a wave of mass abductions targeting both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria.
The attacks have piled international scrutiny on insecurity in the country, including from US President Donald Trump.
“Here we have 172, but the numbers that were abducted at the beginning were 183,” said the governor, adding 11 had escaped.
He said 89 people were “rescued only yesterday, or early morning of today”, adding that 83 “returned about three days ago”.
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