All 24 schoolgirls abducted last week from the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, have been rescued, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu announced on Tuesday. The girls were taken on November 17 during a midnight attack by armed assailants; one managed to escape the same day. President Tinubu said he was “relieved that all the 24 girls have been accounted for,” and called for an urgent deployment of more security personnel to vulnerable communities. Authorities have not released details about how the rescue was carried out.
Principal Musa Rabi Magaji confirmed that the girls are in government custody and are being transferred to Birnin Kebbi for medical checks and debriefing. Parents, including Abdulkarim Abdullahi whose two daughters, ages 12 and 13, were taken expressed gratitude but remain anxious to reunite with their children. The Kebbi abduction is one of several recent mass kidnappings. Just days earlier, more than 300 students and staff were kidnapped from Saint Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State; around 50 escaped over the weekend. In Kwara State on Tuesday, gunmen abducted 10 people in Isapa, near Eruku, where 38 worshippers were seized during a church attack last week. Those 38 have since been freed, according to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
Although no group has claimed responsibility, security analysts attribute the attacks to heavily armed bandit groups many formed from displaced or aggrieved herders who profit from ransom payments and exploit areas with weak security presence. Nigeria has recorded over 1,500 student abductions since the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping, highlighting a persistent crisis affecting both Christian and Muslim communities. Kidnappings remain difficult to contain, with arrests rare and ransom payments widely reported despite government denials.
