Twenty-four girls abducted from a government boarding school in northwestern Kebbi State last week have been released, the state governor’s media aide confirmed on Tuesday, November 25, 2025.
The students were kidnapped on November 17, when armed men stormed their school shortly after a military detachment assigned to the premises had departed. The attack reportedly triggered a series of copycat kidnappings across Kwara and Niger states, according to authorities.
Reacting to the development, President Bola Tinubu expressed relief over the girls’ safe return and directed security agencies to intensify efforts to rescue others still in captivity.
“I am relieved that all the 24 girls have been accounted for. Now we must put, as a matter of urgency, more boots on the ground in the vulnerable areas to avert further incidents of kidnapping. My government will offer all the assistance needed to achieve this,” Tinubu said.
Mass kidnappings for ransom have become a recurring crisis in northern Nigeria, where heavily armed gangs frequently target schools and rural communities, often overwhelming local security forces. The latest incident underscores ongoing challenges to Nigeria’s internal security, particularly in remote regions plagued by banditry and weak law enforcement presence.
