Around 300 Nigerian schoolgirls who were kidnapped last week have been released, local police say

The girls were taken from their boarding school on Friday, in Jangebe, Zamfara, by unknown gunmen.

Official reports suggest that 279 students were freed, noting that the previously reported figure of 317 abductees was inaccurate due to the fact that some girls had run away.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the Zamfara kidnapping.

It is thought that the schoolgirls were released and returned after negotiations between the armed kidnappers and the local government.

While the state's governor, Governor Bello Matawalle, denies any money was paid to the criminal gang, paying off abductors has been a method used in past incidents which may have motivated the group in the first place.

North Nigeria has been rife with recent reports of school kidnappings and subsequent ransom demands from criminal gangs.