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Nigeria Rescues 24 Girls Abducted in Kebbi as Hundreds From Niger State School Remain Captive

Officials responded by closing 41 boarding schools, reflecting chronic bandit threats to classrooms.

Overview

  • President Bola Tinubu announced that 24 of the 25 girls kidnapped on Nov. 17 from a government girls’ school in Kebbi state have been recovered, with no details released on the operation.
  • The Kebbi school’s director told the Associated Press the freed students remain in official custody and are being transported to the state capital, Birnin Kebbi.
  • Gunmen abducted 303 students and 12 teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Niger state on Friday, and 50 students subsequently escaped, according to church authorities.
  • Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna said 253 pupils and 12 teachers are still being held, as parents maintain a protest camp outside the school over what they describe as government inaction.
  • The government ordered temporary closures of 41 boarding schools across Niger, Kebbi, Plateau and Benue, and witnesses described abductors herding children on foot while riding roughly 50 motorcycles.