TWENTY-FOUR students abducted from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, have regained their freedom after spending a week in captivity.
The schoolgirls were taken at dawn on November 17 when terrorists stormed the school shortly after a military detachment withdrew from the premises.
Their abduction triggered public outrage and fears of a resurgence in school kidnappings across the North-West.
In a statement released on Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu welcomed the development and commended security agencies for what he described as “relentless efforts” to secure the release of the students.
“ I am relieved that all the 24 girls have been accounted for. Now, we must put as a matter of urgency more boots on the ground in the vulnerable areas to avert further incidents of kidnapping. My government will offer all the assistance needed to achieve this,” Tinubu said.
The mass kidnapping of schoolchildren has surged in Nigeria since the 2014 Chibok abduction, forcing states like Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, and Niger to shut thousands of schools over insecurity.
Following their abduction, The ICIR reported how terrorists in the early hours of Friday, November 21, also stormed St. Mary’s Papiri Private Catholic Secondary School in the Papiri community of Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State, and abducted scores of students and teachers.
Several community members who visited the school after the incident confirmed the attack and described it as a coordinated operation carried out between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m.
According to a 2023 report by Save the Children, over 1,680 students and teachers have been kidnapped from schools—mostly in the North—since 2014.
The release of the 24 students was also coming two days after all the 38 worshippers abducted during last Tuesday’s attack on Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Oke Isegun in Eruku, Kwara State, regained their freedom after days in captivity.
The victims were freed on Sunday following a combined security operation involving federal and state agencies.
The rescue brings to an end a tense five-day manhunt triggered by the attack, which left three worshippers dead and deepened anxieties over rising insecurity in Kwara’s border communities.
Read the terror series here
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M