Nigeria's defence chief general says the military was being fed bad intelligence by informants, hampering the fight against armed kidnapping gangs who continue to abduct students and residents in the north of the country.

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The military announced that it had rescued 137 students abducted by gunmen earlier this month in northwestern Kaduna state. The school children arrived in Kaduna on Monday.

The chief says that the military was too stretched and often relied on informants to pursue the armed gangs, known locally as bandits, often with little success.