Trendpills
All 24 schoolgirls abducted from a boarding school in Nigeria's northwestern Kebbi state have been rescued, the office of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced on Tuesday. The students were taken from the Federal Government Girls' College in the remote town of Birnin Yauri by armed assailants in a recent attack, adding to the country's long-running crisis of mass kidnappings.
In a statement, presidential spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale confirmed the girls' safe return and stated that no ransom was paid to the abductors. He credited the outcome to a successful rescue operation coordinated by national security forces, led by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. The government did not provide specific details about the operation or when the initial abduction took place, but reiterated its commitment to ensuring the safety of schools and citizens across the nation.
The incident is the latest in a disturbing trend of widespread school kidnappings for ransom that has plagued Nigeria for over a decade. While the 2014 abduction of over 270 schoolgirls from Chibok by the Boko Haram extremist group drew global condemnation, numerous subsequent attacks have been carried out by armed criminal gangs, known locally as "bandits." These groups primarily operate in the country's northwestern and central regions, targeting rural communities and travelers for financial gain, which has severely disrupted education and daily life for millions.
Since the Chibok incident, rights groups estimate that thousands of students have been abducted. Nigerian authorities have struggled to contain the violence, though President Tinubu, who took office last year, has made tackling insecurity a cornerstone of his administration. Following the news, President Tinubu announced the girls' safe return and reaffirmed his administration's "resolute stand against concessions to criminals." The successful, ransom-free rescue is being presented as a significant achievement for the government's security strategy.
