Joy as parents reunited with kidnapped Nigerian students

A mother reacts as she holds on to her son, one of the students from Tegina's Salihu Tanko Islamic School who were abducted three months ago by gunmen, at the government house after their release, in Minna, Nigeria August 27, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Ninety children abducted from a school in Nigeria were reunited on Friday with their parents after being held captive for nearly three months, part of a wave of mass kidnappings by armed gangs that have spread fear across the north of the country.

"Today is the happiest and most joyful day for me and my family," said Ali Gimi, whose five children were among those kidnapped from an Islamic school in Niger state on May 30.