All 24 schoolgirls abducted last week in Kebbi State in the northwest of the country have been released. This was announced by Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a statement, Tinubu noted that all the girls captured in the November 17 attack on the Government Girls Secondary School in Maga “were returned safely.”
The President did not disclose details of the rescue operation. “I was extremely relieved to hear that all 24 girls had been rescued. It is now urgent to send additional forces to vulnerable areas to prevent further incidents of abductions,” he added.
School principal Musa Rabi Magaji said that 25 students were initially abducted, but one of them managed to escape on the day of the attack.
The freed girls are now in the custody of the authorities, he said; information about their health status has not yet been provided.
Abdulkarim Abdullahi, the father of the two abducted schoolgirls, said that the students were taken to the state capital of Birnin Kebbi.