24 Kebbi Schoolgirls Released After Week in Captivity

Twenty-four students abducted from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State, have regained their freedom after spending seven days in captivity.

The students were kidnapped on 17 November, when armed men stormed the school in the early hours, shortly after a military detachment withdrew from the area. The incident sparked nationwide concern over ongoing threats to school safety in North-West Nigeria.

President Bola Tinubu confirmed the girls’ release on Tuesday, commending security agencies for their efforts and calling for increased deployment in vulnerable areas to prevent further kidnappings.

> “I am relieved that all 24 girls have been accounted for. We must urgently put more boots on the ground in vulnerable areas. My government will provide all necessary assistance,” he said.

The abduction comes amid a troubling trend of mass kidnappings in Nigerian schools, a problem that has persisted since the 2014 Chibok incident. Several northern states, including Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, and Niger, have previously closed schools in high-risk areas to protect students.

While security operatives worked to secure the Kebbi students, armed men attacked St. Mary’s Papiri Private Catholic Secondary School in Agwara, Niger State, on 21 November, abducting students and teachers between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m.

According to a 2023 Save the Children report, more than 1,680 students and teachers have been kidnapped from schools in Nigeria since 2014, mostly in northern states.

The release of the Kebbi schoolgirls follows the safe return of 38 worshippers abducted during an attack on Christ Apostolic Church Oke Isegun in Eruku, Kwara State. They were freed on Sunday after a joint five-day security operation, which came in the wake of an attack that left three worshippers dead.