TheCable

All the 79 students abducted from Presbyterian Secondary School in Bamenda, Cameroon, have been freed.

Samuel Fonki, a minister of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, confirmed their release on Wednesday.

The students were kidnapped on Monday along with their principal, a teacher and a driver.

“Praise God, 78 children and the driver have been released. The principal and one teacher are still with the kidnappers,” Fonki said, adding that one of the children had earlier escaped.

Fonki called for prayers for the release of the teacher and principal.

The priest had said the school paid about $4, 000 ransom to secure the freedom of 11 schoolchildren who were kidnapped by the same group on October 31.

Adolphe Lele L’Afrique, governor of the region, blamed the abduction on militias.

Militias have been demanding the independence of the two English-speaking regions, and they have called for a school boycott.