More than 300 Nigerian schoolboys, freed after being kidnapped last week in an attack on their school, have arrived in the capital of Katsina state to celebrations of their release.

The boys were abducted on the night of Dec. 11 from the all-boys Government Science Secondary School in Kankara village in Katsina state in northwestern Nigeria.

The students arrived Friday in Katsina, the capital of the state, and met with Katsina Governor Aminu Bello Masari.

Bleary-eyed and appearing stunned by their ordeal, the boys piled into chairs in a conference room, most still in their school uniforms, some wrapped in gray blankets. The oldest of the boys sat in the front row and were greeted by officials.

Masari had announced their release late Thursday, saying 344 boarding school students were turned over to security officials. Masari told The Associated Press that no ransom was paid to secure the boys' freedom.

"I think we can say, we have recovered most of the boys, if not all of them,” he said.

The boys from the secondary boarding school will get physical examinations in the state capital before being reunited with their families, the governor said.

Nigeria's Boko Haram jihadist rebels claimed responsibility for the abduction. Leader Abubakar Shekau said they attacked the school because they believe Western education is un-Islamic.