3 groups of students freed in Nigeria in 24-hour period

By CHINEDU ASADU and KRISTA LARSON
Associated Press

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Authorities in northern Nigeria say three separate groups of kidnapped students have been freed within a 24-hour period. The dramatic development is prompting speculation that some kind of deal made have been made with the gunmen blamed for a spate of recent abductions in Africa’s most populous nation. Among those freed were some of the youngest children ever taken hostage in Nigeria. Hours after the youngsters were brought to the Niger state capital on Friday, police in Zamfara state said that 15 older students also had been freed there. A third announcement came hours later out of Kaduna state.