Twenty-four students of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, have been released after spending a week in the hands of their abductors.
The schoolgirls were kidnapped on November 17 when armed men stormed the school in the early hours shortly after a military unit stationed in the area had withdrawn.
The incident reignited public fears over the persistent threat of school abductions in the North-West.
In a statement on Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu confirmed the students’ release and commended security operatives for their efforts.
“I am relieved that all 24 girls have been accounted for. We must urgently deploy more security personnel to vulnerable communities to prevent further kidnappings. My administration will provide all necessary support to achieve this,” President Tinubu said.
The abduction occurred amid ongoing concerns about mass kidnappings in schools, a crisis that has continued since the 2014 Chibok incident and has forced several states, including Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, and Niger, to shut down schools considered high-risk.
Meanwhile, as security forces worked to secure the Kebbi students, another attack was recorded on November 21 at St. Mary’s Papiri Private Catholic Secondary School in Agwara LGA of Niger State.
Armed men invaded the school between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 am, abducting students and teachers.
A 2023 Save the Children report indicates that more than 1,680 students and teachers have been kidnapped from schools in Nigeria since 2014, with most cases occurring in northern states.
The release of the Kebbi schoolgirls comes shortly after security forces also freed 38 worshippers abducted from Christ Apostolic Church Oke Isegun in Eruku, Kwara State.
That rescue operation, which lasted five days, followed an attack that left three worshippers dead.
