MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen in Nigeria on Saturday released 27 teenage boys who were kidnapped from their school last week in the northern state of Niger, while security forces continued to search for more than 300 schoolgirls abducted in a nearby state.

Schools have become targets for mass kidnappings for ransom in northern Nigeria by armed groups, many of whom carry guns and ride motorcycles.

17, 27 students, three staff and 12 members of their families were abducted by an armed gang who stormed the Government Science secondary school in the Kagara district of Niger state, overwhelming the school's security detail.

After their release, boys were seen by a Reuters witness walking with armed security through a dusty village, some struggling to stand and asking for water.

A government official said the boys were aged between 15 and 18.

"The Abducted Students, Staff and Relatives of Government Science Collage Kagara have regained their freedom and have been received by the Niger State Government," Governor Abubakar Sani Bello said in a tweet.

The release of the schoolboys comes just a day after the raid on a school in Zamfara state where gunmen seized 317 girls.

"As we welcome the news of the release of the abducted Kagara students, I urge government to expedite action on the release and safe return of the kidnapped students of Government Girls Secondary School Jangebe," Peter Hawkins, UNICEF's Nigeria representative, said.

In December, gunmen raided a school in northwestern Katsina state and kidnapped nearly 350 boys, who were subsequently rescued by security forces.

The most high profile school kidnapping was that of more than 270 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram from the town of Chibok in 2014.

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Chris Miller said he was given the sticker featuring the armed group's logo by a friend "who said that it represented patriotism.".

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