The 279 girls were abducted on Friday by gunmen who stormed their public school in northwestern Nigeria, in Zamfara state, a senior government official who knew of the incident told CNN.
Yusuf Idris, a spokesman for the regional governor, said on Tuesday that the girls had been returned safely and all were counted. He made no comment when asked if a ransom was being paid for his freedom.
The kidnapping of girls is the latest in a series of similar kidnapping cases in Nigeria. At least 42 people were abducted from a public school last month and later released and more than 300 schoolchildren were arrested and released later in December.
These incidents have raised questions about the safety of schools in parts of northern Nigeria.
In a statement released on social media on Friday, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said the kidnapping of the girls was “inhumane and totally unacceptable”.
“This administration will not succumb to the blackmail of bandits targeting innocent students at the school in anticipation of a huge ransom payment,” Buhari said in the statement, released by its official spokesman.