Gunmen in Nigeria have freed a number of pupils who were kidnapped from an Islamic school in May, according to their head teacher. Some 136 students from the school in Tegina, Niger state, were seized by gunmen demanding a ransom. The head teacher said a small number escaped in June. There were unconfirmed reports that six died in captivity. Mass abductions for ransom have become increasingly common across Nigeria in recent months. Head teacher Abubakar Alhassan said he could not give an exact number of how many students had been freed, but “none of the pupils are in captivity”. He told the BBC that the freed students were looking unhealthy, frail and exhausted. They are now being treated in hospital in the state capital, Minna.(BBC)…[+]