24 Nigerian Schoolgirls Freed After Week in Captivity, Reunited With Families
President hails rescue amid nationwide kidnapping crisis.
In a rare breakthrough amid Nigeria’s escalating school abduction crisis, 24 schoolgirls kidnapped from their boarding school in Kebbi State over a week ago have been released and reunited with their families, President Bola Tinubu announced on Tuesday, praising security forces for their determined efforts that led to the safe recovery of the victims.
The armed assailants had stormed the Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School in Kebbi State on November 17, killing one staff member and initially abducting 25 students; one girl managed to escape shortly after the attack, while the remaining 24 endured more than a week in captivity until their sudden release, the exact circumstances of which—including whether ransom was paid—remain undisclosed by authorities.
President Tinubu described the operation as evidence of the government’s resolve, immediately ordering the deployment of additional military personnel to vulnerable regions and directing the Nigerian Air Force to maintain continuous aerial surveillance over remote areas, synchronising air and ground units to identify, isolate, and neutralise criminal gangs responsible for the wave of mass abductions.
Also Read: Over 300 Students and Teachers Abducted in Nigeria’s Second Major School Kidnapping This Week
The Kebbi incident has triggered a disturbing chain reaction, with copycat kidnappings reported in at least two other states; most alarmingly, over 250 children abducted from St Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State last Friday remain missing despite 50 managing to escape, drawing sharp criticism from religious leaders who accuse the government of making no meaningful effort to secure their release.
As Nigeria grapples with one of its worst security crises in years—forcing President Tinubu to cancel his attendance at the G20 summit in South Africa—the international community has been urged to intervene, with former UK Prime Minister and UN education envoy Gordon Brown demanding urgent global action to protect Nigerian schools and declaring that no child should ever be “plucked from their classroom for criminal profit” in the 21st century.
Also Read: Nigeria School Attack: 25 Boarding Girls Kidnapped, One Staff Member Killed
